


Field Trip

by Titch360



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-25
Updated: 2016-07-25
Packaged: 2018-07-26 14:47:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 51,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7578244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Titch360/pseuds/Titch360
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dick Grayson is an accomplished student, but not even that will prepare him for his first school field trip. Watch the social outcast grow a place for himself in the topsy-turvy experience that is high school.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Field Trip

Field Trip

 

On a cool Friday afternoon in the middle of February, Dick Grayson stood outside of the Warrington School, waiting for his ride home.  He chatted idly with a couple classmates while two distinctly different concerns flew through his mind.  The day had started out great.  Dick had aced another math test, he turned in his research paper for his American History class a week early, and the Gymnastics coach had asked him to be an Assistant Coach.  The day had gotten even better for the twelve-year old high school freshman once he got to his Chemistry class, but had swiftly taken a turn for the depressing in the wake of the good news.

His more immediate concern regarded why he was still standing in front of his school, now thirty minutes after the final bell rang.  Dick had never known Alfred to be late for anything a day in his life.  Alfred was always the one telling Dick to hurry up, and extolling how rude it is to be late anywhere.  Punctuality was next to Godliness in Alfred’s book, just as much as Cleanliness was.

Dick’s thoughts as the first ten minutes elapsed were joking.  _I bet Alfred overslept in his afternoon nap.  He must be making us something really good for dinner, and just didn’t want to leave it._   The next ten minutes of thoughts revolved around more practical concerns.  _Bruce said there was construction starting downtown today, maybe Alfred forgot it was happening.  It hadn’t started yet when he brought me to school this morning.  The construction detours must be what’s keeping him._   The third ten minutes found the youth’s thoughts turning towards the tragic.  _Gosh, I hope he’s alright.  I hope he didn’t get in an accident or anything.  Could he have had a heart attack or something?_

As Dick was about to reach for his phone to call Bruce and see if he knew what might be keeping Alfred, two cars pulled into the parking lot to pick up the two remaining students standing in front of the imposing brick structure that was the Warrington School.  Dick breathed a massive sigh of relief in seeing that the second car was indeed Alfred.  There was no body damage to the vehicle that he could see, and Alfred didn’t look as if any major health concerns had befallen the man since this morning.

Bidding goodbye to his lab partner, Mark, who was being picked up by the other vehicle, Dick got into the back of the luxury car and fastened his seatbelt.

Alfred turned around in the driver’s seat, “My deepest apologies, Master Dick.  I should have allowed more time in getting past that blasted construction.”

Dick smiled at the worried look on the man’s face, “It’s okay, Alfred.  I’m just glad you’re okay.  I was starting to get worried.  So, the construction is bad?”

A soft smile lit the older man’s face as he turned back to driving.  “I’m sorry I made you worry like that.  Rest assured that I will allow more time for the construction delays next week.”

The car pulled smoothly away from the curb as Dick asked, “How bad was the back up from the construction?”

“I must be honest, it wasn’t just the construction that delayed me.  I thought I left enough time to get past the roadworks, but disrupt people’s normal routines and they lose their minds.  The roadworks were bad enough, but the detours added another five miles to the trip.  People seem to only know their own route through the city.  Force them to change, and they forget how to drive.  There were three accidents along the detour.  Not that I am making excuses for my tardiness, Master Dick, but some people just forget how to do simple things when they are taken out of their comfort zone.”

Dick was trying not to laugh at how flustered Alfred was getting.  “…And, let me guess.  All three accidents happened right in front of you?”

“No, young sir, only the first one.  The second one was blocking lanes, and I had to wait for emergency crews to pass when I approached the third.”

Dick’s jaw dropped, “Gee, I hope no one was hurt.”

Looking at the boy in the rearview mirror, Alfred said, “It didn’t appear so, but there was a small car fire.  We had to wait until that could be put out before we could pass.  I do apologize for making you wait, young sir.”

“Don’t worry about it, Alfred,” Dick said with a soft smile, “I’m just glad you’re alright.  I got to talk to my lab partner a bit while we were waiting.  That was Mark, the guy who got picked up by the car that pulled in in front of you.”

Alfred’s smile grew as he turned towards the center of the city, “Might this be a new friend, Master Dick?”

“I don’t know yet, Alfred.  He seems alright, and he’s happy to be my partner this semester.  He said his grade has jumped an entire letter since we were partnered.”  Dick liked the older boy, and he was pretty sure that his lab partner wasn’t the type to just use Dick to raise his grades.  They had a long talk during lunch today that Dick was pretty sure meant that he was finally being accepted by at least some at the school. 

“Well, I hope that this turns out to be one of many new friends for you, Master Dick.  Master Bruce and I have been a little concerned about that for a while.”  Dick had skipped a grade to find himself as the youngest in his high school class.  While that would naturally make him the odd man out, being one of the smartest in his classes didn’t serve him too well on the social front, either.  It wasn’t Dick’s fault that school came easily for him.  He found himself taking advanced classes with students two and three grades above his own.  Outperforming them academically was a great feather in his cap, but also a social stigma in the topsy-turvy world that was high school.

Dick watched the buildings grow larger as they passed into the financial district, his expression darkening as the ride grew quiet.  Alfred didn’t like the storm clouds he saw building behind the boys eyes.  “Master Dick, is everything alright?”

“Huh?” Dick shook himself out of his thoughts, “Yeah, I guess so.”

“Did something happen at school today?”

“No, well…yeah, a couple good things, but one that was unexpected.  I don’t know if it will turn out too well.”

Alfred felt a drop of concern enter his stomach, “Well, what happened, young master?  Surely it can’t be anything too bad, I didn’t receive any calls from the school today.”

Dick looked back out the window as he said, “No, it wasn’t really bad at all.  Just…just something Bruce won’t like.”

“What is it, Master Dick?”

“I’d rather talk about it with both of you together.  Is that okay, Alfred?  I’m not trying to keep anything from you, honest.  I…I just don’t know how you both are going to react.”

“I understand, Master Dick.  We still have a few miles to go before we get to the Tower, tell me about the rest of your day.”

“Um…isn’t it a little early to be picking Bruce up?”

Alfred smiled at the rearview mirror again.  “Maybe, but it is Friday.  Perhaps Master Bruce will be just as ready for a weekend as you seem to be.  You can always sit in his office and complete your homework if he is not ready to leave just yet.”

Dick grumbled, “Yeah, if he lets us in.”  Bruce had a tendency to not want to be bothered while he was working.  ‘Business Bruce’ was not ‘Home Bruce’, and Bruce wanted to keep the two parts of himself separate as much as possible.  He felt it was easier on Dick to not have to deal with that side of him, and Dick had spent numerous hours in the lobby outside of Bruce’s office, waiting for ‘Business Bruce’ to finally relinquish his hold on the man Dick wanted to spend his time with.

“What was that, Master Dick?” Alfred asked in an airy tone.

“Nothing.  I just don’t like disturbing him when he’s working.  He doesn’t really like it, either.”

“Well, if he isn’t used to it by now…”

“Yeah, I know,” Dick replied with a snort.

“Perhaps he would be willing to take a break, and you could tell him the news that seems to have you so perturbed.”

“Yeah, perhaps.”

Alfred made his way smoothly into the parking garage of Wayne Towers and pulled into one of the five slots assigned for Bruce’s personal use.  Alfred stopped the Mercedes next to a sleek red Ferrari that Dick couldn’t remember seeing before.  He pulled his jacket a bit tighter around himself as a cool breeze worked its way through the underground parking lot.

Turning to Alfred, he said, “Alfred, did Bruce do something wrong?  Are you mad at him, or something?”

Alfred looked confused as he approached the child, “Whatever do you mean, Master Dick?”

Dick pointed at the car, “You made him drive to work in a convertible in the middle of February?”

Alfred tried to cover up the snort of amused laughter that made its way out of his mouth.  “No, young sir.  That was entirely his choice.  He wanted to test out his new car today.  I warned him it would be too cold for a convertible, but he just said he would keep the roof up.”

Dick gave the butler a wry smile, “He called to get you to pick him up this afternoon, didn’t he?”

Alfred returned the smile and said, “The second he reached his office this morning.  Come, let’s get out of this wind.”

The pair rode the elevator to the executive level, and were deposited in Bruce’s outer office.  Jean, Bruce’s longtime secretary, lit up as a bright smile alighted on her face.

“Well, isn’t this a surprise.  Hello, you two.  My, look how big you’re getting, young man.”

The youth smiled, an embarrassed flush tinting his cheeks.  “Hi, Jean.  Is Bruce busy?”

“I’m afraid he is, sweetie.  He’s so busy that he isn’t even in his office.  He’s in a meeting with the new Wayne Tech startup division.” She checked her watch, then the calendar on her computer screen.  “He should be back up in about twenty minutes or so.  You two can wait in his office if you want.  Can I get you anything while you wait?”

Alfred gave the woman a kind smile, “No, thank you, I am perfectly fine.  Master Dick, would you care for anything?”

Dick, who had been heading for Bruce’s office door, stopped and turned back, “No thanks.  I’ll just get a bottle of water out of Bruce’s refrigerator.”

The two men entered the office.  Dick sat down at Bruce’s desk and began doing his homework.  Alfred took a chair across the desk and picked up the newspaper.  Both became so engrossed in their activities that they didn’t notice when Bruce entered the office thirty minutes later.

Bruce smiled at the pair before him as he said, “I’m sorry, I must have the wrong office.”

Dick’s head shot up and a genuinely bright smile planted itself across his face.  “No, it’s the right office.  We’re just staging a little corporate takeover.”

Bruce walked over and hugged the boy, who had risen and wrapped himself around his father’s waist.  “Well, I hope you didn’t make too many earth-shaking decisions while I was in my meeting.”

Dick’s smile grew as he picked up on the banter, “No.  Not too many.  You made an offer to buy Apple, but I lowballed them, so that one might not happen.”  Dick glanced towards the door, making sure it was shut, “Oh, and you have a date with Vicki Vale tomorrow.  She wants to interview you about how you became Batman.  Pick her up in the Batmobile at 9:30.”

Bruce smiled down at his son, “Is that all?  I would have thought you would have made an offer to buy a space shuttle while you were at it.”

Dick nudged Bruce as the man sat down and Dick hopped up to sit on the edge of the desk, “NASA hasn’t return my call yet.  Are you done for the day?”

Bruce sighed, “Sorry, chum.  I have one more meeting, then we can go.”  Dick looked down, saddened, “It’s okay, though.  It is just a conference call; I don’t have to go anywhere, and you don’t have to leave for it, just so long as you are able to stay quiet.”

Dick brightened again, “I can do that.  I still have some homework to do.”

Bruce looked over at the smiling butler, _he gets this way every time he sees me and Dick like this.  It makes him so happy._ “Hello, Alfred.  Everything alright today?”

“Dreadful, sir.  Please, take your time on the conference call.  Traffic will be horrendous, thanks to the construction delays.  I’m afraid to say that I was half an hour late in picking up Master Dick from school today.”

Bruce smirked, “You?  Late?  I don’t believe it for a second.  So, half an hour?  That would put you at the school right at the time that the final bell rang, right?”

Alfred looked chagrined, “I’m afraid not, Master Bruce.”

Dick chimed in, “It’s okay, Bruce.  I got to talk to my lab partner a bit, while he waited for his ride, too.”

At the mention of his lab partner, Dick’s cheery demeanor grew cloudy.  Bruce instantly picked up on the change in attitude.  “What is it, kiddo?  He wasn’t mean to you or anything, was he?”

Dick looked up, startled, “What?  No, nothing like that.  Mark’s really nice to me.  It’s just…well…”

“Why don’t you take this opportunity to tell us what you were hesitant to tell me in the car, Master Dick?”  Alfred asked as Bruce pulled Dick into his lap.”

“Something happen at school today, chum?”

Dick nodded, “Yeah, I’m just not sure how you’re going to take it.”

Bruce squeezed the child, “Why don’t you tell me, and we can find out together.  My call isn’t for another twenty minutes, go ahead.”

Dick looked down at his hands, “Well, you remember that big project we were working on in Chemistry class?  That one that took almost all of last semester?”

“Yeah, I remember you saying something about it, why?  Did the teacher not like it?  It’s okay if you got a bad grade on it, pal.  I know you tried your best.”

“Well, my teacher entered the class project in a contest, and we won.”

Bruce’s face threatened to split apart with the wide grin the news forced him to grow.  “Way to go, kiddo!  Why did you think I wouldn’t like that kind of news?  Did you hear that, Alfred?  My kid won the science fair!”  Bruce pulled the child into a tight hug at the news.

“That is excellent news, Master Dick.  I don’t understand why you were so upset earlier.”  Alfred couldn’t contain his own grin.

Dick sighed as he continued, even with a blush darkening his cheeks.  “Thanks.  I figured you would like that part.  The next part is what I was concerned about.  See, this was a national science competition, and our class beat out projects from around the country.”

Bruce interrupted, tousling the boy’s hair, “I’m still not hearing anything upsetting.”

Dick continued, “The grand prize is a bunch of money for the school, and our project will actually get developed by…the main sponsor of the contest.” Dick hoped that Bruce hadn’t caught the pause before not revealing who the sponsor was.  “We developed a soil additive that produces a higher yield with less crop loss than current fertilizer additives.  It can also be developed and implemented for cheaper than current processes.”  Dick was beginning to talk faster as he got into the project.  Bruce sat back with pride pouring out of every pore of his body as he listened to Dick explain the project.

As Dick wound down, Bruce said, “I still don’t see why this makes you so depressed?  You should be proud, Dickie.  I know I am.  If your invention is being produced, then you are doing something good for the farmers of the country.  You are helping people, which is something that everyone should do.  What’s the real problem?”

Dick glanced up at Bruce’s face, trying to gauge how the last bit of the story would be taken.  “I told you our project will be developed, right?  Part of the grand prize is a trip to tour the R&D lab that is going to be developing the project, and we get to present it to the company board of directors.”

Bruce shrugged, “So, you will be going on a tour and staying…?”

“In a hotel.  The school is paying for everything.  They are planning it for the first week of March.  We have to fly there, it _was_ a national competition, after all.  We leave on a Monday, tour the facility on Tuesday, pitch to the board on Wednesday, then return on Thursday.  If you let me go.  I…I understand if you don’t want me to.”

Bruce was a bit shocked, “Why wouldn’t I want you to go?  You worked hard, just like the rest of the class, right?  You deserve to enjoy the rewards of your labor.  So, where is it you’re going?”

Dick mumbled, “…Meroolis.”

Bruce leaned down, with a small grin, “Come again?”

Dick sighed and said, “Metropolis.  The National Science Competition was sponsored by LexCorp.”  The boy cringed away from Bruce, expecting the man to explode at any second.

Bruce was shocked into silence for a full minute before giving the most intelligent reply he could come up with.  “Oh.”

“We never thought we would actually _win._   We just…”

Bruce interrupted, trying to pull his expression back under his control, “No, it’s okay, Dick.  I just…wow…I just need to…think…for a minute.  LexCorp…wow.”

The intercom beeped as Jean’s voice came into the office, “Five minutes until your conference call, Mr. Wayne.”

Bruce responded in a distracted voice, “Thanks, Jean.”

Dick was looking down at his hands again, “Now you see why I didn’t want to tell you?  It’s okay if you don’t want me to go.  I don’t know how comfortable I would be shaking Lex Luthor’s hand, anyway, at least not after I read the file you have on him.”

“I need to think about that, chum.  How long before the school needs to know if you’re going?”

“They need to know by next Friday, so they can get the plane tickets and get the right number of hotel rooms.”

Bruce thought as he dialed into the conference call.  “Okay.  I’ll have an answer for you before then.  Hopefully I can give you an answer by Monday, but don’t hold me to that, okay?”  Dick nodded.  “Okay, you keep working on your homework, this call shouldn’t take more than an hour.”  Dick got back to work, still sitting on Bruce’s lap, as the billionaire began his last call of the day.

An hour later, the three residents of Stately Wayne Manor found themselves sitting in a traffic jam, trying to get out of the city.  Dick had been able to finish his homework during the call, and spent the rest of the time trying to make Bruce laugh while he discussed the proposed expansion of overseas operations.  Dick succeeded at the most inopportune time.  As the call was leaning towards naming a management company for South American expansion, Bruce was asked his opinion on the company in question.  A hearty guffaw worked its way out of the CEO as he watched Dick draw a picture of Superman flying into the side of a building on his desktop calendar, not really paying attention to the call.  Bruce covered as best he could, and ended up agreeing that the proposed company was the right one for the job.  As soon as the meeting moved on to the next topic, Bruce muted his phone and proceeded to tickle the boy mercilessly as punishment.  The meeting ended several minutes later, and they packed up to leave.  Just before walking out the door, Jean called over the intercom and reported that Lucius Fox was waiting and wanted one quick minute of Bruce’s time.  As a joke, Bruce and Alfred hid at the side of the room while Dick sat at the desk and waited for the CFO.  Lucius made it one step into the large office before spotting Dick and stopping in his tracks.

He smiled at the boy and said, “Ah.  Figures.  No one else could get a laugh out of the stone during a meeting.  How are you, Dick?”

Dick returned the smile, “Good, Lucius.  How are you doing?”

“Much better, now that I know that the boss isn’t losing his marbles.”

Bruce walked up next to the man and said with a grin, “’The Stone’?  Is that what they’re calling me these days?”

“Among other things, but you know how it is.  The boss only gets respect to his face, but the true feelings come out in the break room.  Have a good weekend, you three, okay?”

Dick took his place at Bruce’s side, “Thanks, Lucius.  We will.”

Now, with time to spare, Bruce was questioning Dick.  “Okay, run through everything about your trip for me again.  Start with the contest.  I like the part about you winning.”

Dick smiled at that.  “Okay, early in the school year, Mr. Chang told us that, instead of doing individual or paired science fair projects, he wanted us to work in a larger group for a bigger contest.  There’s only twelve of us in the class, how many people want to take advanced Chemistry in high school, right?  So we all got together and decided to work on one project.  Mr. Chang gave us some options, and we chose to modify one of the options.  The option he gave us was to do an experiment where we tried to determine the best fertilizer to use when growing certain types of crops.  We changed it to see if we could come up with a whole new fertilizer, one that would be better and cheaper than current options.  We didn’t know if we could pull it off, and it required a lot of testing and trial and error.  I was put in charge of the theoretical component.  I like Chemistry, but it really isn’t my best subject.  I’m better at math, so I was put in charge of a couple people to work out the mathematical portions.  You know, how much of current fertilizers are used per acre now, versus how much of the new fertilizer would be needed to get the same output.  Weight comparisons, labor savings, crop yields, those sorts of things.  Anyway, we actually came up with something that we thought would work.  We made a couple batches in the school science lab and grew some crops, and it worked!”

Bruce couldn’t keep a smile off his face when he saw how excited Dick was getting.  Dick continued, “Mr. Chang was impressed with our results, so impressed that he cancelled everything else for the last semester and had us only working on this.  We’ve been refining the process, and I guess he can see how much hard work we’re putting into this, because he gave everyone an ‘A’ for last semester.  Well, he didn’t tell us this part until just this week, but he entered our project into the National Science Competition.”

“Tell me about that.  What’s the competition?” Bruce asked.

Dick took a breath, “The National Science Competition is a nation-wide contest held every three years.  It is open to high school science classes to enter projects that have the potential to impact lives for the better.  It is really used to get kids more interested in science, and I guess it works.  The last winner created a gas/electric hybrid car engine.  The rights to the engine were bought by Toyota.  The winning team pretty much had their entire college education paid for, just by winning this contest.  The main sponsor for the contest, other than the government, is LexCorp.  I guess he puts it on to scout talent for his R&D division.”

Bruce looked thoughtful, “Huh.  I guess he _can_ do something non-diabolical every now and then.  Okay, go on with your story.”

Dick was smiling again, “Mr. Chang entered us in this contest without telling us.  He said he didn’t want us to get our hopes up, just in case we didn’t win.  He only told us yesterday about the contest, and that we made the top five.  We found out today that we won.  The school made a big deal out of it.  We had a surprise assembly after lunch today, and the principal announced it to the whole school.  They pulled us out of our other classes to tell us what was going on, and to give us the information packets.  Oh, I’ll have to show you that when we get home.  Then, Principal Skinner told us that the school would be flying us to Metropolis for the award ceremony and our grand prize.”

Dick broke off, looking down again as he came to the crux of his story.  “Um…I know you said you would give me an answer before next Friday, but I really want to go, Bruce.  I don’t want to put any pressure on you, or anything.  I won’t even pout, I promise.  I just…I want to do this.”

Bruce was feeling torn as the car pulled into the garage of the Manor.  “Let’s go inside, get cleaned up, and have some dinner, okay?  We can discuss logistical stuff before we go out on patrol.  I want to say yes, because you worked hard and you earned it, but I want to make sure everything is covered first.”

Dick was still looking depressed as he entered the house.  Bruce wrapped an arm around his boy and pulled him tight into his side.  “Hey, don’t look so down.  I’m incredibly proud of you, Dick.  You and your class did something amazing, and you’re being recognized for it.  You should be proud of yourself.”

Dick nodded, then turned and pulled his father into a tight hug.  “Thanks, dad.”

As dinner was served, Bruce brought up the logistics of the trip again, but stopped when Dick asked if they could postpone that discussion until the next day as he handed over the information packet.  Bruce informed him that it would just make it longer until he could render a decision.  Dick decided that was okay, since it would give Bruce time to read over the packet and allow him to know the school’s plans for the trip.  Bruce agreed that it was a good idea, and tabled the discussion until the following morning, or afternoon, depending on how patrol went.

Dick continued impressing Bruce well into that evening’s patrol.  True to his word, Dick didn’t once mention the trip while out as Robin.  While they had been eating their dinner, the temperature in town had been taking a dive.  It was at least twenty degrees colder when they started their patrol than it was when they had left Bruce’s office.  Instead of complaining that his bare legs were freezing, Robin merely pointed out that it looked like it would be a cold weekend.  Batman made a noncommittal noise, but inside was proud of the way the boy handled himself. 

It was a fairly calm night, and Batman had been planning on using the patrol to gather intelligence on a new gang that was reported to be forming on the north side of the financial district.  Batman knew that Robin hated doing stakeouts, and that the boy would be even more miserable by doing a stakeout in close to freezing weather.  The only concession to the weather that Batman could see Robin taking was to position himself on the leeward side of the older vigilante, to block most of the chill wind.  Other than that, Robin remained quietly vigilant.

The only real excitement of the evening came an hour into the surveillance.  Batman was getting valuable information, and was focused on his task.  He was so focused that he didn’t see the two men throw a brick through the front window of a small electronics store half a block away.  Robin saw it, and pointed it out to Batman a second before the plate glass shattered.  Taking a second to observe the smash and grab, Batman returned to his intelligence gathering while grunting out, “Well, what are you waiting for?”

With a quicksilver grin, Robin disappeared from Batman’s side and worked his way stealthily across the rooftops, knowing that to launch his attack from the same building where Batman sat was a good way to reveal their position.  The electronics store was too far down the block for an effective maneuver to be launched from Batman’s position.  Also, the extra time allowed the criminals to exit the store with stolen merchandise in hand.

A minute later, the two men exited the store, their mannerisms clearly espousing their nerves.  Robin almost felt guilty as he dropped on the men from above.  The clearly novice thieves never knew what hit them as Robin dropped on their heads from above and sent them both into unconsciousness in a matter of seconds, quietly and efficiently. 

The Boy Wonder was tightening the last zip tie as Batman came silently up behind him.  Robin didn’t look as he said, “I already called it in.”

“Good.  Is it just these two?”

The younger crime fighter stood and turned around to face his mentor, “Yes.”

“Good.  Are they tied?”

“Yes.”

“Good.  Let’s go home, it’s getting colder.”

As the pair entered the Batmobile, light snow flurries began falling on Gotham City.  Robin curled his legs under him in the passenger seat, trying to warm the extremities, as the car raced off into the night, heading towards the Cave.  In an uncharacteristic move, Batman inched the heater knob a bit higher than normal.

Robin turned to the driver and asked, “What did you learn from your stakeout?”

Batman recounted his observations.  “They seem to be locals, just trying to make a dishonest buck.  I noticed at least three sets of brothers in the group.  Their leader didn’t seem like the supervillain type.  We’ll keep an eye on them, but for now, we really don’t have to worry about them.  Small time hoods and thugs.  I’m tempted to let them get a few crimes under their belt, and then turn them over to Commissioner Gordon for his men to handle.”

Robin nodded, taking in the information.  The snow grew heavier as the Batmobile wound its way into the hills.  Robin watched out the side window as the trees and bushes gained a late-season dusting of white.  Batman continued in a soft voice, surprising Robin.  “You did well tonight, Robin.  Tell me about what happened.”

Robin turned back to Batman and said, “They were newbies.  They didn’t say anything, but I could tell in the way they were moving.  One of them was shaking, he was so nervous.  I almost felt bad taking them down like that.  They’re going to wake up in jail with no clue how they got there.  I wish people like them wouldn’t turn to crime.  There has to be something better for them to do, so they don’t run across us, like those two did tonight.”

Batman listened carefully.  There was no bragging in the boy’s voice, no bravado after a job well done.  The only tone was one of slight sadness at the fate of the men.  Batman felt good that Robin took this so seriously.  It made allowing the boy to follow him into the darkness that much easier. 

The car pulled to a stop in the cave and the Dynamic Duo departed the vehicle.  Pulling off his cowl, Bruce waited until Dick had removed his mask, and he could see the blue eyes that came so close to matching his own, before he said, “Go get yourself a warm shower.  I’m sure Alfred put out the thick pajamas on a night like tonight.  Maybe there will be hot chocolate when we get upstairs.  Good job tonight, son.”

Now that they were back in the confines of the cave, Dick allowed himself to smile brightly at the praise.  He scampered off to the showers with a spring in his step as Alfred approached Bruce.  Not looking at the butler, Bruce said softly, “How did he get to be so good at this, Alfred?”

“I’m sure that Master Robin is just following in Master Batman’s footsteps as best he can.  You seem unusually satisfied this evening, sir.”

“He makes me happy, Alfred.  I just hope I am enough to be able to do the same for him.”

Coming to stand in front of his employer, Alfred said, “Well, if that smile he gave you is any indication, I don’t believe you have anything to worry about.  Have you made a decision on the young master’s school trip yet, sir?”

Finally focusing on the butler, Bruce said, “No, but I’m close.  I still need to look over the packet the school sent home, and check on one or two… _other…_ things first.  Tomorrow, Alfred.  I’ll know tomorrow.”

Nodding with a slight smile as he walked away, Alfred replied, “Very good, sir.  Be sure to give Mister Kent my greetings when you speak with him.  I believe I have a batch of hot chocolate to make, since you were so generous to promise it to the boy.”

Bruce walked to the locker room to shower and change, only slightly wondering how Alfred knew that the ‘other things’ he was talking about was placing a call to Superman to check on the current criminal activity in Metropolis.

After tucking Dick into bed an hour later, Bruce started on the packet of information Dick had handed him over dinner.  He found himself unable to concentrate on the papers as the evening replayed in his mind.  Dick was growing so fast, Bruce felt like he was missing everything.  The takedown tonight, and the lack of bragging on the preteen’s part, showed that Robin was growing just as fast.  Bruce left the packet on his desk, and began to wander the Manor.

His feet carried him to Dick’s door and silently into his room.  Bruce stood in the dark and watched the slumbering boy for several minutes.  As happy as he was to see him safe and sound in his bed, he ached that the boy was not his own, and that his memories of this same view only went back some three and a half years.  He was acutely jealous that others, even if they were the boy’s natural parents, were the ones to have this sight every day for almost three times as long as he had.  He could imagine a smaller, but probably not by too much, Dick Grayson, snuggled in his bunk in the family’s small trailer.  He hoped that John and Mary enjoyed this view as much as he did.

Reluctantly snapping himself out of this reverie, Bruce wanted nothing more than to crawl into the bed with the boy and lose himself to the arms of Morpheus, he made his way back down to the cave.  Idly realizing that he could have made this particular call from his study, the man called the Superman. 

The intended Kryptonian answered on the fourth ring with a wary tone of voice.  “Hello?”

“Clark.”

“Bruce?  Are you okay?  Is something wrong?”

Bruce rolled his eyes as he answered, “No.”

The tone of voice over the phone grew nervous, “Is Dick alright?  And Alfred?”

Bruce kept a level tone, suddenly enjoying how flustered the other man sounded.  “They’re fine.”

“Is there a problem in Gotham that I haven’t heard about?  Has a giant Hell Mouth opened under the city, and you’re calling for JLA support?”

With an unmistakable grin on his face, Bruce said, “No.  Is there a problem with just calling, Clark?”

“Well…No, I guess not, but getting a call at one in the morning usually never means good things.  And getting a call from _you_ …well, let’s just say that you never ‘just call’.  Now that my heart rate is getting back to normal, what’s going on?”

His fun had, Bruce got down to business.  “How’s the city, Clark?”

Still a bit confused, Clark said, “I don’t know, Bruce.  I haven’t been to Gotham in months.  You live there, shouldn’t you be telling me?”

Bruce’s eyes threatened to spin around entirely in his head with how hard he rolled them at Clark’s statement.  “Not _my_ city, _your_ city.  How is Metropolis?”

“Oh!”  Bruce could picture the man slapping his forehead in realization, much like Bruce wished he could slap the man for his last statement.  “It’s slowed down quite a bit in the past few weeks.  I know I said at the last JLA meeting that Metropolis had been crazy for a while, but that seems to have died down.”

“Nothing you’re tracking to take down in the future?  No big plots or schemes on your radar?”

“No.  Why do you ask, Bruce?”

Bruce ignored the question.  “What has your workload been like this week?”

Sighing slightly, Clark said, “Well, I could tell you about the new assignment my editor gave me today, but I don’t really think that is what you are calling about.  Let’s see…I put away a serial killer on Tuesday…Broke up a drug ring last night…Had a dinner date with Lois tonight…All in all, a pretty good week.  Are you going to tell me why you’re so interested _now_?”

Bruce was silent for a minute, considering how to answer the question.  He had planned on mentioning it at the JLA meeting the following night, but… ”No.  Just keep your city extra safe for a few more weeks.”

Clark could tell that Bruce was about to hang up, so he spoke fast.  “You know, I was just joking about boring you with the assignment I got today, but for some reason I don’t think you will be bored by it at all.”

A deep sigh was heard by the alien through the phone.  “Fine, Clark.  What is it?”

Clark smiled broadly and launched into what he had to say.  “Okay.  Seems that LexCorp was the title sponsor for this year’s National Science Competition.  The winners will be touring R&D at LexCorp, with Lex Luthor as their personal guide.  Lex pulled some strings with Perry and a couple other news editors in town to get press coverage of the kids when they land.  I guess Lex wants them to feel special when they get off the plane.  Lois, Jimmy, and I will be the Daily Planet’s representatives at the airport, and I have been assigned to do the interviews after the tour.  The Daily Planet got the exclusive for the interviews; don’t want to overwhelm the kids, after all.  Now, if I remember correctly, the winning class is from Gotham; a place called the Warrington School, I think.  Didn’t you mention once upon a time that Dick goes there?”

Bruce’s expression vacillated between exasperation and pleasure.  _Oh, kiddo is going to love hearing that the press is covering their project.  Maybe I shouldn’t tell him, let it be a surprise._   “You know damn well that Dick goes there, Clark.”

There was a definite smile in Clark’s voice as he said, “So, is he concerned for the safety of his friends going on the field trip?  He asked you to call to make sure everything is okay here?”

_Yep, time to drop the bombshell._   “No, _I’m_ the concerned one.  I want to make sure that everything is going to be safe for Dick’s arrival in Metropolis.”

Clark was confused again, “Dick’s arrival?  I thought the class that was coming was an Advanced Chemistry class.”

“It is, and it’s Dick’s class that won the contest.  When have you known Dick _not_ to be taking advanced classes?”  Bruce couldn’t hide the pride in his voice anymore, as he allowed the smile to cross his face again.

He figured it had to match the one on Clark’s face as he said, “Good for him.  You must be just about fit to burst right now, aren’t you?  Don’t worry, I’ll make sure the town is on its best behavior for their stay.  I know he’s smart, and he skipped a grade and is a freshman now, but isn’t he still a bit young for the class?”

The proud papa said, “Youngest in his class.  He is the only freshman in the class, too.  All the other students are juniors and seniors, and, he was one of the team leaders.  Not the main team leader, but he was in charge of the group that did all of the calculations and computations for the project.”

“That has to still be an important position for a major chemistry project like theirs.  Thanks for the heads-up.  I’ll have to watch out for him while he’s here.”

Bruce was shaking his head as he said, “No!  No, you can’t talk to him.  I mean, yes, watch out for him, but, don’t you think it would be a completely different type of news story for the other reporters if you were to run up and hug the smallest kid in the class as they got off the plane?  What sort of story are you and he going to come up with to explain how you know each other?”

Clark chuckled as he said, “Relax, Bruce.  That’s not what I meant.  And, as for how we could explain knowing each other, well, how many times have I had the exclusive Bruce Wayne interviews?  I know I’ve done at least three since you’ve had Dick, we could have met during one of the interviews.”

Bruce exhaled, relieved.  “Okay, that could work.  Do me a favor, though.  Don’t mention the press meeting the class at the airport.  I think it will be a nice surprise for them, assuming their teacher doesn’t tell them first.”

“So, you’re going to allow him to come, after all?”

_How did he know I was on the fence about allowing him to go?_   “Assuming you can keep your city safe, he can go.  Now, I just have to talk to him about what kinds of corporate sabotage and spying he can get away with on his tour.  Lex is a business rival, after all.  He will probably have extra security placed on Dick during the tour once he hears his name.  I can’t imagine that Lex Luthor won’t recognize him as my son once they are introduced.  That’s assuming that he doesn’t just know him on sight.”

Clark sighed in a good natured way, “Bruce, Lex has been keeping his nose clean for a while now.  I don’t want to have to arbitrate a business war between multinational corporations.”

“It may be worse than that.  Dick’s already read my file on Luthor.  I’m going to have to update it and get him the latest news in order to keep him from going after the man at the airport.  He won’t do anything to give away his mask, but he will have to do some serious acting to make sure that he can keep a straight face.”

“I’ll do what I can here, if you do what you can with him, but I’m glad you’re letting him come.  It sounds like he deserves the field trip just as much as the rest of his class does.”

“He really does, Clark.  Remember, not a word to him about meeting the plane at the airport.”

“Right.  And Bruce?  Congratulations.  I know you must be so proud of him.  It still amazes me how good a father you are to that kid.  I’ll see you at the meeting tomorrow.”

“Right…tomorrow,” Bruce said in a distracted voice as he considered the praise he just received.  It felt good to hear someone complimenting Dick through him, damn good.  Bruce hung up the phone and made his way to his bed.  He stopped for one last look at the slumbering child before falling into his own bed.  He was asleep in just a minute, with a contented grin on his face.

Dick ambled his way into the dining room late on Saturday morning.  Dick was satisfied with how the week had ended, and he was hoping for a lazy day today.  Dick had been up for over an hour, but instead of coming straight downstairs, he had spent the time sitting in his room, staring out the window.  Wrapped in a blanket, Dick watched as the day brightened over the back lawn.  The weather had warmed slightly, melting the light snowfall from the previous night, and turning the still-falling precipitation into a heavy drizzle.  The weather couldn’t dampen Dick’s mood, as the sun broke through in rays, highlighting the view from his bedroom.

Now, he approached the dining room table, sprouting a smile as he saw Bruce sitting and reading the information packet from school.  Bruce didn’t look up as Dick entered silently, and the boy’s grin took on an evil air as he tiptoed around the large table. 

When Dick was two steps away, Bruce, still not looking up from his reading, said, “Morning, Chum.  You sleep well?”

Dick deflated as he was unable to surprise the man, but covered the remaining distance before answering.  Coming up behind his father, Dick draped himself over the man’s back, wrapping his arms around Bruce’s neck and leaning their heads together.  “Great.  How about you?”

Bruce leaned his head back into Dick’s and smiled, “Couldn’t be better.  You slept in today.”

Dick squeezed tighter and said, “No, just felt lazy.  I was watching the rain.  It was…nice.”

Bruce turned in his chair and snaked an arm behind himself, sweeping the boy into his lap.  Dick didn’t release Bruce’s neck, using it as a pivot to allow himself to be swung into Bruce’s lap.  The man wrapped strong arms around the child and looked deep into eyes that almost matched his own.  “That does sound nice.  This seems like a good candidate for a lazy day at home.  I don’t think we had any other plans, so why don’t you come up with something for us to do after breakfast.”

Dick cocked his head to the right.  “You haven’t eaten yet?  I would have thought that this late…”

Bruce smiled, “Dick, I got down here about five minutes before you did.  I haven’t even had a cup of coffee yet.”

Dick returned the smile, his tone joking, “You’ve been down here for five minutes without coffee and you’re still awake?”

Alfred came into the room, pushing a covered tray.  “Since you both chose to get a late start today, I have done my best to keep your breakfast warm.  Do eat up, I can’t make any guarantees as to its quality if it should have to be reheated again.”

Bruce accepted a cup of coffee with a grateful smile.  Dick moved into the chair next to Bruce, instead of going to his normal seat across the table from the man.  He just felt like being closer to Bruce today, and the man was not about to say anything about the change in seating arrangements.  Neither was Alfred, as plates of food were placed before his charges.

Both were quiet as their plates were systematically cleared.  Despite Alfred’s claims to a lesser quality meal, both would agree that this one was up to the butler’s usual par.  As he was spreading strawberry jam on a slice of perfectly browned toast, Dick’s gaze fell to the information packet spread across the table in front of Bruce.  He tried not to look, but his gaze kept returning to the papers.

Bruce smiled as he saw Dick trying not to look excited about the possibility of going on the field trip out of the corner of his eye.  As he sat back with his cup of coffee, Bruce wondered how the boy would ask if Bruce had made his decision yet.  Talking to Clark last night had made up his mind; the only thing that was holding back his decision now was finishing reading the information packet and his planned conversation with Dick.

“…Um…”

Bruce wanted to laugh at the nervous tone in the one syllable.  He decided to only make the boy wait just a little bit longer.  “I haven’t finished reading the packet yet, but everything looks good so far in there.  What I really want to know is how you are going to act on and react to this trip.”

Dick looked a bit confused.  “What do you mean?”

“Let’s start with school.  What about your other classes?  You’re going to be missing almost a week of school to go on this trip.  Are you going to be missing any tests?  What about your homework?”

Nodding, Dick said, “The school is working with our other teachers to coordinate our workloads.  We won’t be missing any tests, and they will be putting together packets of homework and setting aside individual tutoring time if we need it to cover the material we will be missing in class.  The only thing I will be missing out on is Gymnastics practice, but I think they can survive without me for a week.”

Now Bruce was confused.  “You’re taking Gymnastics?  I don’t remember that on your schedule.  Isn’t you taking a Gymnastics class a bit like Wally signing up for the track team?  I really don’t think there is anything you can learn from a high school gymnastics teacher.”

Dick’s jaw sagged in confusion for a second before he remembered that he hadn’t told Bruce about being asked to be an assistant coach yet.  “Oh geez, I totally forgot to tell you.  I was so excited for the trip with the Chemistry class, it just slipped my mind.”

“Forgot to tell me what?”

“Well, on Friday, during PE, before everything happened with the trip, the gymnastics coach pulled me aside and asked me to…sort of…help out…with the school’s team.”

“What does that mean, ‘sort of help out’?” Bruce asked with a sneaking suspicion.

Dick’s smile grew shades brighter, “I was asked to become an assistant coach for the girl’s gymnastics team.  We are doing some gym work in PE right now.  It’s too cold outside to do regular PE, so we have been in the gym working on some strength training stuff.  Well, we were watching the girl’s team on the equipment…”

Bruce interrupted, wondering just how quickly his little boy was growing up, “Oooooh?”

Dick gave an embarrassed smile as his cheeks darkened, “What can I say?  Leotards are awesome.  Anyway, the coach overheard me talking to one of the guys about how they weren’t hitting the bars right to get the most out of their momentum.  She thought I would be embarrassed enough to shut up and walk away if she called me out on it.  She told me, ‘If you think you can do better, I’d like to see you try.’  So, I did.”

Bruce grew wary, “You didn’t do anything that could have been revealing about night work, did you?”

Dick shook his head, “No, I kept it kinda simple.  I just stuck with my old warm-up routine from the circus.  Felt kinda good to shut that lady up; she isn’t really too nice to the students from the regular PE classes.”

“Was she impressed?” Bruce asked with a knowing smile.  He had seen that routine several times, and even though Dick had advanced far beyond it through almost constant practice while in Robin training, it was still an impressive routine.

“You could say that,” Dick said with a sly grin, “Anyway, the bell rang right after that.  But, the next day, that happened on Wednesday, by the way, she asked me where I had learned to do stuff like that.  I told her about growing up in the circus, and being an aerialist and gymnast.  Well, Friday morning, she asked me to come to a few of the practices to help the girl’s team refine their routines.  When I asked her what that meant, she all but begged me to become an assistant coach.  She told me that the school’s team has come no higher than second in competitions for the past twelve years.  She wants to win, and she thinks I can help.”

Bruce thought for a minute, nodding his head slowly, “She’s right, you can.”

The boy’s eyes grew wide, “I can!?!”

“So long as it doesn’t interfere with your school work, I don’t see why not.  I just hope your natural talent is something you can teach.  Not everyone is able to be good at something and be able to teach others how to be good at something.  Give it a shot.”

Dick reached over and hugged the man tightly.  “Thanks Bruce.  Have I told you lately that you’re the greatest?”

Bruce returned the hug and said, “No.  At least, not today.”

“Well, you are.”

When they separated, the billionaire continued as Alfred refilled his coffee cup.  There was an unmistakable grin on the older man’s face, as he had heard the tale as well.  “Okay, I guess that covers school.  I would have been surprised if they hadn’t thought ahead about your school work before putting something like this trip together.  Actually, come to think about it, that is probably spelled out in the packet.  I really should finish reading that.  Anyway, tell me about the trip itself, everything you were told yesterday.”

The pair walked into the den and sat on opposite ends of the couch, facing each other.  “Okay.  The school is going to fly us to Metropolis, where we will be given a tour of R&D at LexCorp.” 

Bruce grimaced at the name of his business competitor.  “I’m not sure how I feel about that part, for a couple reasons.”

Dick winced and said, “Well, then I better tell you this part now, since I’m sure it will be a large part of your decision.  If I heard Mr. Chang right, Lex Luthor is giving us the tour himself.”  Dick cringed and waited for Bruce to explode.

To Dick’s surprise, Bruce just nodded and said, “Okay.  To be honest, with a nationwide competition like this, I would be surprised if he _didn’t_ lead the tour.  If the tour was of, say, Wayne Enterprises R &D division, after a national contest, you better bet that I would be leading the tour myself, too.  Go on.”

Dick cocked his head in puzzlement.  “What are the reasons you don’t feel comfortable with the tour?”

Bruce sighed, “I guess the two main reasons are the location and, well…the people.”

“What do you mean?”

“The location is two-fold.  First, you will be at the main LexCorp headquarters building.  It would be foolish to think that Lex Luthor would not be aware of the identity of the son of one of his main business rivals.  If he is giving the tour, you can bet that the two of you will be introduced at some point.  If he doesn’t recognize you just on sight, he will know your name, and your connection to me.”

Dick started to look depressed, “What do you think will happen, Bruce?”

“I just don’t know.  Just off the top of my head, Lex could go a couple different ways.  He could refuse to allow you on the tour, citing the potential for corporate sabotage or spying.  That would be a hard claim to justify, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility.  He could assign extra security to watch your every move while in his building.  He could change the entire tour to keep everyone out of sensitive areas that he might have otherwise shown your class.

“On the other hand, he could go over the top, out of his way to show that he is not trying to hide anything from the son of a business competitor.  He could even go so far as to tailor the tour to you, to the point of ignoring the rest of your class.  Now, while that may be nice for you, it wouldn’t do anything for you on the social front.  Am I correct in assuming that you are still having trouble on that front?”

“Yeah,” Dick said grudgingly, “It’s getting better, but…Yeah, you’re right.  Calling extra attention to myself in a situation like that would not be good.”

“Right.  The second complaint about the location is…well, you’ll be on Lex’s home turf.  You’ve read his file.  As much as he’s been keeping out of trouble lately, he’s still Lex Luthor.  There is still the potential for some sort of scheme or nefarious plan to be working its way around in his head.  And, you will be there as Dick.  This is a completely civilian affair; there will be absolutely no opportunity for a switch to Robin.  Now, I am well aware that you are able to handle yourself without giving away your mask, but there is always a threat of something happening that is out of your control.  Lex Luthor and Superman are very well acquainted.  If there is any reason for the Blue Jerk,” Dick shot a light glare at Bruce,” to show up, you absolutely cannot give any indication of knowing him.  There is no reason the think that Luthor doesn’t know about Robin.  A child of roughly the same age and build as Robin, going up and giving Superman a hug, as I know you would want to do, might be enough to stick in Lex’s mind, maybe enough to give away our identities.”

Dick’s eyes had widened during Bruce’s speech.  “Wow.  I didn’t even think about that.  I guess it’s a good thing that you’re going to say ‘no’ to the trip, then.”  Dick’s tone worked its way down into ‘dejected’.

They were silent for a minute before Dick spoke up again.  “You mentioned the people as a reason for concern.  What’s that about?”

Bruce gave a sheepish smile, “Mostly, it’s because I won’t be able to be there with you.  You’ll be all the way in Metropolis, without me.  This will be the longest we will be apart since you came to live here.  The other part of the people is that you will be traveling with people who are basically strangers.  I know the school wouldn’t send anyone untrustworthy with you, but…”  Bruce trailed off, leaving his thought unsaid.  “Do you know where you will be staying, or who you will be staying with?”

Dick shook his head, “They said a hotel, but I don’t think they mentioned which one yet.  Probably the one that will give them the best rates, once they figure out how many rooms we will need.  If you let me go, I will probably be staying with my lab partner, Mark.”

Bruce nodded, “I’ll have to check the packet; see if they mention a hotel in there.  Tell me about Mark.  Do you like him?  Is he nice to you?”

Dick started to grow a smile, “Oh, yeah.  Mark is probably one of my only friends at school.  After his grade started coming up, after we were partnered, he started talking to me outside of class.  We actually have something in common, not the best thing, but something other than just being lab partners.”

“What’s that,” Bruce asked, leaning forward.  He was happy to hear that his son had made a friend, even with being the youngest person in his class.

Dick looked down at his lap, “Oh, his…his mother is dead, too.  She had cancer.  After I told him about my parents, he wished his mother could have gone as fast as mine did.  I never felt glad about anything that happened with them dying before that, and I feel terrible for even thinking it, but…I’m glad they…they went quick, and I didn’t have to watch them suffer for more than a second.”

_No, you didn’t watch them suffer, you just took their suffering and made it your own.  I know you still hurt, Little Bird, I wish I could take that hurt from you._   Bruce gathered his son up in his arms as a trail of tears worked their way down Dick’s cheeks.  Dick buried his face into Bruce’s shirt and let himself be held.  Dick hated that most memories of his parents ended with him in the situation that he currently found himself.  He loved that Bruce would hold him at the drop of a hat, but he didn’t want to think of his parents as a source of sadness, when in life they had been his greatest source of joy.  It wasn’t fair, to him or the memory of his parents.

A long time later, Bruce wiped a tear away from the boy’s cheek with a thumb as he asked, “Please tell me you have something else… _anything_ else…in common with this boy.”

Dick sniffled and replied in a tone that was too watery for Bruce’s liking.  “Y-Yeah.  We talk about movies and sports sometimes, too.  And our fathers, we talk about our dads a lot, too.”

Bruce looked a bit confused, “I didn’t know you were into sports, chum.”

“I’m not.  Not really, but…you know…if it keeps the older guys in my classes from thinking I’m too weird, then I can check out the box scores in the paper before going to school.”

A slight grin broke out on the man’s face.  “Well, I can’t blame you for trying.  I assume that if talking about his dad isn’t as painful as talking about his mom, then his father is still alive?”

“Yeah.  He’s a Colonel in the Army, stationed at the reserve post just north of Gotham.”

Bruce winced and looked pained as he asked.  “Okay, but how is talking about your dad any less painful for you than talking about your mom?  That’s not really fair to you, kiddo.”

A full smile blossomed on Dick’s face, warming the atmosphere of the room by several degrees.  “I don’t talk about _my_ dad, I talk about _you,_ dad.  You’re as close to a father as I have,” Dick pulled the man in tighter, resting his forehead against Bruce’s, “And I don’t think I would want to change that for anything.  If my parents were to magically be able to come back to life, I’m not sure I could choose between you and them anymore.  It has nothing to do with the money, or the comfort, or how much you spoil me, or Robin, its…it’s you.  You make the difference.  This would just be a big, empty house without you here.  With you, I feel like I’m…home.”

_Oh, kiddo.  You know how to make my day.  Never leave me, chum.  You just validated my whole existence._   Bruce wiped his eyes and crushed his boy to his chest.  Several shuddering breaths later, he was able to say, “Thank you, Dick.  That means everything to me, to know that I’ve been able to do something right for you.  I’m still going to spend a small fortune on your birthday in a couple months, though.”

“I know you are; we’ve had that discussion too many times for me to think that you would stop now.  I just feel I have to remind you of how I feel every now and then.  Besides, Alfred seems to think it does you good to hear it.  I think so, too.”

Trying to regain himself, Bruce said, “Tell me more about Mark.  You said yesterday that you two might be friends?”

“Yeah.  He’s been really nice to me.  I’m not sure yet if he is really interested, or is just being nice to me because I have been helping him study sometimes.  He’s kinda the outcast of his group of friends, too.”

Bruce looked puzzled, “Oh?  How so?”

A small grin started to work its way back onto Dick’s face, “Well, he’s on the football team, but he’s taking honors classes, and doesn’t spend a lot of time around the jocks and cheerleaders.  He’s actually trying to focus on classes, it seems.  At least, that’s what he says.”

“Looking to go pro, like most high school athletes are?”

Dick shook his head, “No, actually, he told me he is trying to get into West Point, like his dad did.  I guess it’s really hard.”

Bruce looked impressed, “He’s not kidding, chum.  You have to be dedicated, smart, and know a Senator to get in.”

Eyes bulging, Dick said in a quiet voice, “Really?  Why do you have to know a Senator?”

Bruce smiled, “To get an appointment to West Point, one of the entrance requirements is to be recommended by a civic leader.  To get that, you either have to know someone very important with a connection to the military, or do amazing things to get noticed.  If he’s trying for West Point, then he must be a person of great integrity.  I think you can rule out him just using you to get better grades, pal.”

Dick nodded, “Oh, that’s good.  I like him.  I’m glad you think he isn’t just using me to help him get better grades.”

Bruce was curious, “Do you have any other classes with him?  Is he at least somewhat close to your age?”

“No, he’s a junior.  This is the only class I have with him.  He’s sixteen.”

“I assume he’s quite a bit bigger than you, then?”

Dick chuckled, “Yeah, but then again, so is everyone else in my classes.  He says he plays on defense.  I don’t really know football, but I guess you have to be really big to play on the defense.  He’s a little over a foot larger than me in every direction.”

Bruce couldn’t help but snort out a laugh, “What does that mean, pal?”

“Well, he’s taller, wider, broader, thicker.  He’s kinda built like you, and I’m…well, I’m not.”

“I hate to ask, but isn’t that a bit…intimidating?”

Dick shrugged, “It was, at first.  To be honest, I was a little afraid of him when we were first paired.  Now, though, I’m glad I didn’t stick with my first impression, because he’s really nice.”

“…And, you don’t think you would be uncomfortable sharing a room with him?  Or vice versa, you don’t think he would be uncomfortable sharing a room with you?  People don’t make fun of him for hanging around with the smallest person in the class, do they?”

Dick deadpanned, “Would you make fun of someone weighing two hundred fifty pounds, with big muscles?  Well, maybe _you_ would, but no one at school would.  The other guys on the football team just think he’s using me to help his grades, so they leave him alone about it.  The other freshmen think I’m using him for protection, so they leave me alone about it.  We don’t really call attention to being friends, we just are.  As for being comfortable…sure, why not?  I mean, the last thing he said to me yesterday when we were being picked up is that he hopes I’m able to go on the trip.  We had been talking about it, and I mentioned that I wasn’t sure you would let me go.  He said it would be a disappointment if I didn’t go, and he would miss me if I wasn’t there.  I’m not trying to pressure you or anything, Bruce, just being honest.”

Bruce nodded slowly, “I know, kiddo, thank you.  I asked you to tell me everything, I can’t get mad when you do as I ask.  The other part of the comfort question is, what about nightmares?  I hate to even bring it up, but you have a tendency to talk in your sleep, especially when you are having a nightmare.”

Dick’s face dropped, “I…hopefully I won’t have any, and it won’t end up being a problem.  I’ve told him that I still have nightmares about my parents occasionally.  I know, I shouldn’t have told him that, but he didn’t seem to mind.  Or, at least, he seemed to understand.  I haven’t had one in a while, though, so I’m not looking to jinx anything.  If you let me go, and Mark and I end up having a room together, I’ll remind him that I may have nightmares.  I guess…I guess we’ll handle that when and if it becomes a problem.”

“I guess that’s about the best answer I can expect.  Can’t really force you to be able to predict all the hypothetical occurrences that could come up, right?  No matter how much I would like to be able to, we can’t predict everything.”

They were both quiet for a while before Dick asked, “So…can I go?  Please?”

A smile worked its way back onto Bruce’s face.  “Let me finish reading the packet from the school.  I’ll still give you an answer as soon as I can.  This talk actually helped me feel more comfortable with the idea of this trip.  Let me think about it some more, okay?

“Okay, Bruce.  Want me to get the packet for you?”

The man laughed, “If I proposed anything else, you would have a hard time keeping the pout off your face, so go ahead.”

Dick was out the door and back with the stack of papers in a time that Bruce thought only Flash would have been capable of.  He handed them over with a smile and sat back on the couch, watching Bruce like a puppy watches its master.  Bruce reached out and ruffled the boy’s hair and said, “I’m going to read these, then think about it for a while, so don’t bombard me with questions once I put the papers down, okay?  You can go find yourself something else to do in the meantime.  In fact, I think I’ll go change before reading them.  It is almost noon, and I can just imagine the look Alfred will give us when he comes in and sees us still in our pajamas.  You should change, too.”

They both rose and walked upstairs, surprised to not run into the butler along the way.  Alfred had made himself scarce after listening to most of the conversation in the den from the hallway.  He gave them several minutes before following up the stairs under the guise of changing the sheets.

Bruce stepped out of his closet several minutes later to find his old confidant smoothing the spread atop the large mattress.  Without looking, the butler said, “It pleases me to no end to see how well you have adapted to parenthood, Master Bruce.  I don’t think you could have done a better job with the boy if he were your own flesh and blood.”

It felt really good to get the praise of Alfred.  “I thought you would find a way to listen in.  Alfred, I think he made me the happiest I have ever been with four little letters.”

Alfred didn’t try to hide the smirk as he turned to his employer, “That was quite a long conversation.  To which four letters are you referring?”

“You know, Alfred, it’s questions like that that make me want to just flop down on this bed, that you just spent time changing the sheets and making it look nice, and roll around a bit.”  Bruce returned the smirk as he approached the older man, “He feels like this is his home.  Here, with us, he’s happy.  That’s all I ever wanted to do for him.  I wanted to give him what he deserves, and now he tells me that we have.”

“If I remember correctly, sir, he didn’t say us.  He said _you_.  You make him happy.  You make him feel at home.  I cannot be prouder of you than I am right now, sir.”

Bruce sniffed, coming close to crying for the second time that morning, “Thank you, Alfred, but before you heap all that praise on me, remember that I am nothing without you.  Sometimes I feel like you have more of a hand in raising Dick than I do, and you don’t get nearly enough credit for all you do for us.  Even if he did say me, I have no problem adding you into that, and I’m sure he wouldn’t, either.”

Only his stiff upper lip kept the butler from sniffling himself, “So, will the young master be going on a trip in the beginning of March?”

“I still need to read the packet, but unless there is something drastic in there, then the answer is yes.  Is there anything drastic or catastrophic in there?”

Alfred tried to feign innocence. “How would I know anything like that, Master Bruce?”

“Because you read the packet last night.  I’m not sure if it was while we were on patrol or while I was talking to Clark, but I do know that you read it.  As you would say, you wouldn’t be doing your job if you didn’t.”

Alfred gave in, “There is nothing catastrophic in there.  You will find that they have a well thought out preliminary plan, which should turn into a good plan once everything has been finalized.  Before you ask, all of the points that you mentioned to Master Dick as things you believed were covered in the packet, are points that are covered in the packet.”

Bruce headed for the door, but said over his shoulder, “Don’t tell him my decision just yet, okay?”

“It is your decision, Master Bruce.  Therefore, it is your place to tell him.”

Bruce returned to the den and began reading the school information packet.  He put it down an hour and a half later, after his second reading, and was confused to find the Dick hadn’t rejoined him in the room.  Despite his warning, he fully expected Dick to watch him the entire time he was reading.  Bruce got up and went looking for the boy.

A quick stop in the kitchen found Alfred having a cup of tea.  The older man quickly stood and said, “Master Bruce.  Did you require something, sir?”

Bruce felt guilty for interrupting Alfred’s tea.  _He takes so little time for himself.  I wish I had known it was tea time before I came in._   “Sit, Alfred, please.  I didn’t mean to disturb you.  I just was wondering if you had seen Dick.  I expected him to be hounding me about reading the packet.”

Despite the invitation to resume his seat, Alfred remained standing.  “I saw the young master just after he came back downstairs.  He said he looked in on you, but didn’t want to disturb you while you read the packet.  After a small snack, he said he was feeling a bit restless, I assume from waiting until he could have a definitive answer.  I suggested some exercise.  I believe you will find the young sir in the cave on his bars.”

Bruce turned to leave, “Thanks, Alfred.  Sorry I interrupted your break.”

“Not at all, sir.  Has your decision changed, now that you have had a chance to look everything over?”

Bruce stopped and turned back to the man, “No, it hasn’t.  Come the beginning of March, Dick is going to Metropolis.”

Alfred broke out in a smile, “Oh, he will be so pleased.  When do you plan on telling him?”

“Tonight, after the meeting.  I want to talk to Superman one more time.  Dick won’t be going to the meeting tonight.  Barry isn’t letting Wally go, so Dick would just be bored.”

“Very well, sir.  I will have to see about finding something more interesting for him to do tonight.”

“Thanks, again.”  Bruce left the kitchen and wandered the ground floor for several minutes before making his way towards the clock. 

Working his way slowly down the stairs, Bruce could make out the sounds of exertion.  The metallic creak of the uneven bars shifting as they alternately supported and lost the weight of the lithe acrobat could be heard from the top of the stairs.  The occasional grunt of the boy’s hard work, combined with the slap of palms on poles, was not easily heard until Bruce was almost at the bottom of the stone staircase.  He stood and stared for several minutes as the apparatus came into view.

Bruce’s first glimpse of his boy found him several feet above the high bar as he added a twist to the double backflip he was performing.  What at first appeared to be a blown transition actually ended with the boy standing on the lower bar just long enough for his full weight to load the bar, before springing back towards the high bar.  Several more twists to build momentum allowed Dick to launch himself high above the bar, high enough to curl himself into four somersaults before reaching out for the bar to complete his landing.

Realization hit Bruce almost too late that there was something wrong.  He was counting the rotations with a smile on his face, until he reached four and a half.  Bruce started moving towards the bars, glad he had installed extra padding under the equipment when it was first set up, only to stop in shock as Dick caught the bar in the crook of his knees and hung upside down, beaming at the man and waving.

“Hi, Bruce,” the boy called cheerily.

The man could do nothing but gape as Dick released the bar and landed smoothly on his feet.  Picking up his towel, Dick wiped sweat from his bare chest as he walked over to stand in front of Bruce.  Bruce was panting slightly as visions of Dick missing the last grab and going head-first into the ground flashed before his eyes.  No amount of extra padding would allow the boy to land safely on his head.

Dick hung the towel around his neck as he looked up at his surrogate father.  _Oh, no.  I remember that look.  Crap, now he’ll never let me go._   “I didn’t mean to scare you, Bruce, I’m sorry.” Dick said in a meek voice.

Bruce seemed to snap out of his vision.  “No, no.  You just…I mean…I just wasn’t expecting that.  Is that new?  That…catch?”

Dick looked down, a combination of embarrassment and slight pain from the memory currently flashing behind his eyes showed on his face.  “Well…yes and no.  I’ve never done it off of a quad before.  It’s something that…that my…d-dad and I were working on, before…well, before.  We thought it would be a good gimmick to add to my bag of tricks, if I could actually grab the trapeze with my knees straight off of a trick, instead of having to grab, then transition.”

“That _would_ have been impressive.”

Dick plowed on nervously.  “I hadn’t thought about it in a long time, but I was here, and everything was just _working_ today.  I didn’t even plan a routine, I just…freestyled.  I don’t think I’ve ever pulled a full, new routine just out of my mind like that before.  I just…I just wanted to see if I could do it.”

Bruce grabbed Dick’s chin lightly and levered the pointed face up to his own.  “You have nothing to feel bad or guilty about.  That was…amazing.  I’m not upset, it was just unexpected.  The best showmen are the ones who are able to astound you with the unexpected.  I don’t think the girl’s team could keep up with you.  You should start thinking about what you are going to teach them.”

Dick blushed faintly, “I’m just one of the assistant coaches.  I think I’m really just there to help them work on form, not teach them new moves.”

Bruce’s smile grew, “If the coach had seen what I just saw, I don’t think you would be the assistant anymore.  I think you would have her job.”

“You really mean that?” Dick asked quietly as his cheeks flushed deeper.

“He most certainly does, Master Dick,” Alfred said, making his presence in the cave known.  An involuntary shiver ran through the Englishman as a breeze made its way through the cave.  Looking over, he saw Dick shivering slightly in the cold and asked, “Young sir, where are your clothes?  That is not what you were wearing the last time I saw you.”

Dick huddled closer to Bruce as the older man took the towel from around the boy’s neck and wrapped it around his shoulders.  “In the locker room.  Come on, Bruce.  You can talk to me while I shower and change.  Oh, unless you came down here for something else?”

Bruce shook his head as he patted the child’s shoulder.  “No, just looking for you.”

The young acrobat smiled as he led the way to the showers.  Bruce let Dick go ahead while he talked to Alfred for the four minutes it took the boy to wash up.  Dick was pulling a light sweatshirt over his head as Bruce came in and sat down on the bench.  “It’s colder down here now than it was when I first came down here.  I thought the weatherman said it was going to start warming up this week.”

Bruce shrugged, “He said maybe towards the end of next week.”

Dick slid closer to Bruce as he pulled a pair of thick socks on.  “You think it will snow again tonight?”

Bruce grinned and asked, “Is that what you really want to ask me?”

“Well, no, but you told me not to pester you.  I’m trying.”

“I know, Dickie.  I will tell you that I finished reading the packet, and there is one thing in there that I don’t agree with.”

Dick looked concerned as he pulled Bruce’s arm around his shoulder and snuggled in tightly against the warm man.  “What’s that?”

“The school is planning on flying your class to Metropolis in _coach_?  For as much as we pay in tuition, I think they can do better than that.”  Bruce smirked at the boy.

Dick didn’t know whether to be shocked or to laugh.  “Well, they weren’t going to presume to think you would allow us to be flown on the Wayne Enterprises corporate jet.  It’s only an hour and a half flight.  Sitting in coach will remind us of how cramped we are in our desks, and give us a bit of the school environment while away from classes.”

Bruce and Dick walked back into the house, Dick still held tightly to Bruce’s side.  Entering the den, they found a crackling fire in the hearth, and a plate of cookies on the table next to the couch.  They sat and watched the fire silently for a long time, soaking in the warmth and allowing themselves to relax for a bit.  Dick ended up falling asleep, his head in Bruce’s lap, as the man gently stroked the boy’s dark hair.

A quiet voice sounded close to Bruce’s ear.  “Would you care for something to read, Master Bruce?”

Not looking up, Bruce replied softly, “No, thank you, Alfred.  The only thing I want to study right now is the kiddo.  I don’t spend nearly enough time with him.”

Unseen, Alfred smiled as he said, “The hour or so you choose to give him now, like this, will mean more to him than if you chose to drive him to Metropolis yourself.”

“I know, Alfred.  That’s why I want to stay focused on him, even if he _is_ too asleep to notice.”

Leaving the room, Alfred said, more to himself, but still heard by Bruce, “He’ll notice, no matter how deeply he sleeps.”

Several hours later, Dick awoke to the sensation of Bruce’s fingers running lightly through his hair.  He stretched as much as he could while keeping his head on Bruce’s leg.  After another minute, Dick rolled onto his back and looked up at the peaceful smile being sent his way.

“Hi,” the boy whispered.

“Hey,” was returned from above the child.

“What’re you thinking about?”

Bruce gave a contented sigh and said, “How many more chances we’ll have to sit in front of a fire on a cold day, and have absolutely nothing better to do.  I’m trying to remember if this is something I did with my dad, but he was home so little, I don’t think we did.”

“Bruce, this is a happy moment.  You aren’t supposed to make me sad while we’re cuddling.”

Bruce sighed again, “Even if it isn’t something he and I did, I’m glad it’s something you and I can do.”

Dick turned back to watch the fire as it died down, “You know what would make this even better?  If we had a room with a fireplace and a window.  That way we could watch the rain while being nice and toasty warm.”

They were quiet for several minutes before Dick asked, “Are we going to patrol tonight?”

“Not tonight, pal.  I have a JLA meeting.”

Dick sat up with a smile, crossing his legs under him as he turned to look at his guardian.  “Cool, I haven’t seen KF in weeks.  I miss that goof.”

Bruce winced, “Sorry pal.  I said I have a meeting, not we.  I talked to Barry earlier this week.  He told me that Wally won’t be coming to the meeting tonight.”

Dick’s expression fell, “Aww, is he sick or something?”

“No, grounded.  Barry said his grades are slipping.  No meetings and very limited patrols until he can bring his grades up and keep them up.  That was their agreement, same as ours.  You two can continue to patrol, so long as it doesn’t interfere with your school work.”

Dick grew a shrewd look on his face, “He could bring his homework with him; I can help him with it during the meeting.  That way he can work on getting his grades back up, and I…I miss him, Bruce.”  Dick ended his suggestion with a meek tone that threatened to be followed by a pout.

Unexpectedly, Bruce’s mouth split apart in a huge smile, “Thank you for saying that, kiddo.  I bet Barry that you would say exactly that.  He was dumb enough to give me odds.  You just won me twenty bucks.”

Dick gave the billionaire a wry smile, “A whole twenty dollars?  With your investments, and your company, didn’t you just make twenty dollars in the time it took to take the breath to tell me you won twenty dollars?”

Bruce leaned forward, his fingers digging into the boy’s ribs, eliciting a squeal of laughter that sent Dick jumping from the couch to get away.  Bruce leaned back again and said, “Just for that, you get to review next quarter’s financial analysis before my earnings meeting, and prepare a report giving me the highlights, so I know what I’m talking about in the meeting.  How about I use my winnings to get us ice cream one day next week?”

Bruce rose, and Dick gravitated back towards the man.  Looking up as he wrapped his arms around Bruce’s waist, Dick smiled up at the man as strong arms worked their way around his slight shoulders.  “Okay, dad.  Can I at least call and talk to him?  Maybe I can encourage him to work harder, or tutor him over the phone, or something?”

“Yeah, sure.  I have to tell Barry that he lost the bet, in any case.  Maybe we can convince him to let you talk to Wally.”  The pair headed back down to the cave to make their call.

_Very late that night…_

“Di-ick!  Dii-iick!  Wake up, kiddo,” Bruce whispered in a sing-song voice as he sat lightly on the edge of his son’s bed.  He traced a finger lightly down the boy’s cheek, then brushed dark hair out of his face.

Not opening his eyes, Dick whispered blearily, “Did you have a good meeting?”

Bruce smiled, “For once, we did.  Sorry you couldn’t come this time; you would have been bored by yourself, though.”

Quiet reigned in the room for several minutes before Dick, whom Bruce thought had fallen back to sleep, said, “Did you come in here just to let me know you were home?  That’s nice that you thought of doing that, but, I figured you could make it safely from the cave to the mountain and back.”

“I didn’t come in just to tell you I was home.  Open your eyes for a second, pal.  I have something for you.”

Dick cracked an eye open and focused on the man sitting to his right.  Bruce placed a folded t-shirt on the blanket covering the boy.  Opening his other eye, Dick worked his arms out from under the thick winter quilt and picked up the shirt.

As the garment unfolded, Bruce continued talking.  “I wanted you to have that, at least for now.  That one’s mine, so it should be pretty massive on you.  I’ll get you one in your size on Monday, but I figured it would be good to wear on the tour.”

Dick looked at the oversized shirt and smiled at the ‘Wayne Enterprises’ logo emblazoned on the front.  Not quite getting the importance of what he was being told, Dick said, “Thanks, but I think they want us to wear our school uniforms on the tour, and when the class is talking to the board.  Is this a new one?  The logo looks different.”

Bruce’s smile grew as he could tell that Dick was unaware that he was just told he could go on the trip.  “No, actually, that one is about five or six years old.  Personally, I like the new logo better.  I think you will, too.  Like I said, I’ll get one in your size on Monday.  Actually, I’m kind of surprised that you don’t have any Wayne Enterprises clothing already.”

“Well, you bought me plenty of other clothes.  I guess we can ignore this little oversight…”  Dick trailed off as he sat bolt upright in bed, his eyes widening into platters as his jaw dropped.  “Wait…the tour?  Wear this on the tour?  You mean…I…I can go?”

“You earned it, pal.”  Bruce stopped talking as the smaller form did its best to engulf the larger form.  Even in the darkened room, Bruce could make out the ear to ear grin on the boy’s face. 

Dick bounced as a squeal of joy, the likes of which he hadn’t produced in over a year, erupted from his mouth.  “Thank you so much, dad.  This is…wow…this is so awesome!  I can’t believe it.  I can’t believe you’re letting me go.  This is going to be amazing.”

“I can’t let your class go without you, especially after all the hard work you put in.  You can show those LexCorp as…people…what a real work ethic is.  I signed the permission slip already; you can take it in on Monday.  The only thing about the trip that I don’t like is that I can’t go with you.”

Dick sat back, grinning at Bruce.  “Is that why you didn’t want me going to the meeting tonight?  You wanted to talk to Superman and see if it was safe in Metropolis?”

Bruce tried to hide the mildly guilty look on his face as he said, “No, I didn’t lie to you when I told you why I didn’t want you to go to the meeting tonight.  Besides, I talked to Clark about the safety of Metropolis yesterday.  Tonight was just a reminder to keep it a bit safer for the next few weeks.  If anything happens to you in his city, he’s going to have to answer to me.”  Bruce reached for the shirt, thrown haphazardly aside when Dick threw himself at Bruce, “I guess if you can’t wear this on the tour, then I should just put it away.  I’ll still get you one in your size on Monday, though.”

A thought occurred to Dick, and he grabbed the shirt back from Bruce.  “Wait.  Maybe…I mean, since you brought up nightmares earlier, and you can’t go with me, maybe I should take the shirt.”

Bruce cocked his head, matching the move that Dick used so often, “What do you mean?”

“Well, you always make the nightmares go away for me, so, maybe if I wear your shirt to bed, that will be enough to keep the bad dreams away.  I think I’ll be too excited to have nightmares, anyway, but maybe if I can smell you on the shirt, that will be enough.  Knowing it’s yours has got to do something, right?”

Bruce took his hand off the shirt and said softly, “If it helps, I’m all for it, pal.  Come on, it’s late, back to bed.  We’ll talk more in the morning, okay?”

“What do you mean, back to bed?  You’re the one who woke me.  I’m glad you did, don’t get me wrong, but I may be too excited to sleep now.”

“Well, try kiddo.  Alfred won’t be happy if you sleep through breakfast.”

Dick wrapped his guardian in one more hug before the man got up to leave the room.  “Okay, dad.  Good night, and thank you.”

Bruce made his way silently to the door, watching as Dick laid back down.  Despite his claims of excitement preventing sleep, Dick’s breathing evened out into sleep before Bruce opened the door, a smile trapped on the boy’s face.  “Sweet dreams, chum,” Bruce whispered to his boy as he slipped from the room.

With a much anticipated trip looming on the horizon, the next two weeks dragged for Dick.  Each day seemed to take 48 hours, sitting through class was interminable, and the clock on the boy’s nightstand seemed to have stopped.  His normal diversions only seemed to keep him occupied for half of the normal time they usually would.  His homework seemed to be done the second he took it out of his backpack, books held little interest for him recently, and it felt like he had beaten all his video games.

His only perceived distraction was the gymnastics practices.  Dick had been nervous walking into the first one on Monday afternoon, and it only seemed to grow worse as the girls on the team gave him sidelong glances and spoke in whispered, disparaging tones.  It didn’t help that the coach was late to that first practice.  Having no instructions to get anything going, they had stood in an awkward silence and waited.  When the coach finally arrived, she was upset that no one was doing anything.  She had taken her frustrations out on Dick, introducing him to the team as the new assistant coach by yelling that he should have taken the initiative to get the girls warmed up.

He got no respect from the older girls until the end of the first practice, when the coach put him on the spot to show the team why he was there.  Nervous, even though he had been thinking it would be necessary, Dick made his way over to the uneven bars, the team crowding behind. 

As Dick stretched and got ready to do a bar routine, the coach said, “Now, pay attention, girls.  Grayson here is going to show you why I asked him to help out.  Go ahead, show them what you showed me last week.”

_Got to keep it simple, can’t do anything that is going to give away Robin.  Bruce would kill me if I outed us to the girl’s gymnastics team._   A couple of the girls giggled as the skinny freshman approached the bars and leaned over to take his shoes off.  Getting in the zone, Dick walked around the bars, checking the cables to make sure everything was set up correctly.  He adjusted tensions and chalked the bars, taking more time than the coach thought was necessary.

“Hurry up, Grayson.  We don’t have all day.”

Forgetting that he was talking to a teacher and coach, Dick called over his shoulder, “Who set these bars up?  The tensions are all wrong; no wonder their timing has been off.  They don’t need an assistant coach, they need an equipment manager.”

The girls stopped their tittering and whispered conversations.  None of them had ever heard anyone talk back to their coach.  Dick seemed to pick up on the change in atmosphere, and hastened his checks.  Finding everything to his liking, Dick glanced back at the group, then let the circus showman out to play. 

Dick removed his PE shirt, then turned to chalk his hands.  A couple of the girls resumed their giggling, until Dick turned back to the team.  Gasps could be heard as the almost scrawny boy revealed tight muscle under tanned skin that didn’t hold an ounce of fat.  He thought too late about his Robin scars, but figured he could attribute them to growing up in the circus.

Dick launched himself into a basic routine, subconsciously hearing his father’s voice, coaching him through the moves he had learned years ago.  The showman spirit swelled in him, and he yearned to display a more advanced set of moves.  When his father’s voice faded in his mind, to be replaced by Bruce’s, he figured that the routine was getting too complex, and settled into a perfectly landed dismount.

Returning to the awkward freshman, instead of the accomplished showman, Dick silently walked over and started to put on his shoes.  A hidden smile came to his face when he heard a groan of regret from one of the younger girls on the team as he put his shirt back on.

Wiping the stunned look off of her face, the coach said, “Gi-Girls, now you see why I asked Grayson to help out?  If you all can learn to be half as smooth as that, this team will dominate competitions.  No more second place for us, girls.”

From then on, there was no question from the team about the necessity of ‘Coach’ Grayson.  No one laughed when he made suggestions or corrected form.  He enjoyed his first week as assistant coach, and the team made vast improvements.  The only question he had a hard time answering was when one girl, incidentally the same one who had wished for Dick to leave his shirt off that first day, asked what he did to stay in such good shape.  The honest answer was also the last one he could possibly give, so he made up a story about a training regimen of tumbling and gymnastics, mixed with light weights and physical activity.  It wasn’t a lie when he told the team that performing the moves he learned so long ago made him feel closer to his father, and he wasn’t the only one wiping an eye while walking back to the locker room.

The next week passed just as slowly as the previous week.  Dick spent much of his free time researching Metropolis and LexCorp.  Seeing what he was doing, Bruce gave Dick a new file, an updated version of his file on Lex Luthor.  He didn’t want his son meeting the man with old information running through his head, so Bruce complied every fact he could about the man.  Much to Dick’s delight, the new file painted Luthor in a much more positive light.  Like Superman said, Luthor had been keeping his nose clean.  His company had been growing, legally, and he himself had been focusing on philanthropic adventures, like the National Science Competition.

Saturday evening, Bruce made his way down to the cave early, while Dick and Alfred were upstairs, preparing his wardrobe for the trip.  There really wasn’t much to prepare, since the updated trip ground rules Dick had brought home on Friday stated that they had to wear their school uniforms basically every time they left the hotel, so Dick soon followed Bruce down to the cave.  Entering the cavern under Stately Wayne Manor, Dick heard Bruce talking, and soon figured that he was hearing one side of a conversation that he was not supposed to be privy to.

“…He’ll be there Monday afternoon, Clark.  Is everything ready on your end? I’m trusting you to keep your city in line for four days, what you do with it the rest of the time is up to you…Look, you know that I still have reservations about this trip…Yeah, well, don’t make me regret this… _I do trust him_ , he’s not the one I’m worried about…Just, you know, keep an eye out for him, that’s all I’m asking…You’re _Superman_ , what do you mean you can’t do that without him noticing?”

Dick saw Bruce stiffen incrementally and knew he had been detected in the shadows at the foot of the stairs.  Reluctantly, he slowly walked forward, not making a noise as he approached the man, who didn’t turn from the phone.

“…Look, Clark, I just want him to be safe when I can’t be there with him…He’s looking forward to this so much, the last thing I want him thinking about is whether he needs to find a way to sneak a costume into his suitcase in order to help you out while he’s there…No…Yes…Yes, he is…If my son comes home damaged in any way, you’ll have to answer to me…Now, go clean up your city, so we can clean up mine…Yeah, goodbye, Clark.”

Bruce hung up the phone, then hung his head over the console.  Dick spoke first, his voice too small and meek for Bruce’s liking.  “You don’t want me to go, do you?”

Bruce sat down heavily in his computer chair and held out a hand to the boy.  Dick slowly approached and took the offered hand.  Bruce pulled him into his lap as he said, “What I told you two weeks ago is still true now.  You earned this trip, and you deserve to go.  I want you to go and have a good time with your friends, but you can’t expect me to not feel a little worry about you being away from home and out of sight for so long.  I’m sorry that I’m overprotective, but…I don’t know what I would do if anything happened to you.”

Dick laid his head on Bruce’s shoulder and said, “It’s okay, Bruce.  I’ll stay home, if it will make you feel better.”

“No.  Not a chance.  I’m not letting you miss this, just to make it easier on my parental feelings.  It’s something I need to get used to; you’re growing up, I can’t stop that.  I’ve just been realizing these past few weeks how quickly it’s happening.”

Dick was quiet for a minute before saying, “I wish you could go with me, too.  I’m going to miss you.”

Bruce had to bite his cheek to keep the tears at bay.  _Hold it together, man.  You still have to patrol tonight.  No one needs a blubbering Batman._   “What I told him was true, I want you to be safe when I can’t be there, but I also want you to have a good time.  Everything will be great, you’ll see, we’ll both see.  If Superman isn’t up to the task of protecting his city at this point, then maybe we need to rethink the leadership structure of the Justice League.”

A slight smile curved the boy’s lips.  “Uncle Clark asked if I was standing behind you, didn’t he?”

An involuntary snort of laughter escaped the older man, “Yes, he did.  But, at least I realized it before he did.”

“I would hope so, since we are in the same room, and he is a couple hundred miles away.”

Bruce cringed at the number and mumbled, “Don’t remind me.”

The smile grew a bit brighter as Dick asked, “Did you really mean that?  That you trust me?”

Bruce started to sprout his own smile, “Look at where we’re sitting.  Do you think you would be here now if I didn’t trust you?”

_Does he mean sitting here in the Batcave, or sitting in his lap?_ “Yeah, but trusting me here and trusting me in Metropolis are two different things.”

Bruce slowly tightened his grip around the boy’s shoulders, “Yeah, kiddo, I trust you.  I trust you more than I’ve trusted anyone since my parents.  You are the most important thing in my world, Dickie.  I want to make sure that every safety precaution I have influence over is in place.  If that means breaking out the Kryptonite to ensure you have a good trip, then so be it.”

“Do you think I’ll get to see Uncle Clark while I’m there?”  Dick asked idly after a minute of silence.

_Don’t give away the reception Clark told me about.  It will spoil everything._ “I don’t know if you will get to spend any time with him, but he sounded pretty sure that he would at least see you, even if you don’t see him.  How exactly would you explain knowing him, pal?”

Dick looked thoughtful, “Oh, yeah.  You’re right.  That _would_ be hard to explain.  He interviews you a lot, though.  I could have met him one of those times, couldn’t I?”

_God, you are too quick sometimes, pal.  It really shouldn’t surprise me that you and Clark came up with the same answer to that question._ “You can say ‘hi’ to him, if you see him, but I wouldn’t suggest going out of your way for a familiar greeting.  You don’t want to make the papers for anything other than your project.”

Dick’s jaw dropped.  _The papers?  Why would the papers be covering a high school science competition?_   “Do you think that the papers would _really_ cover something like our project?  Did Uncle Clark tell you something that you aren’t telling me?”

“Why wouldn’t they cover it?  It would make a nice human interest story, especially if your project is going to help as many people as you think it will.”  _Danger, danger, don’t blow it, Bruce!  He’s on to you.  Sometimes, kiddo, I wish you were just a little slower on the uptake.  Why do I have to think faster when talking with you than I have to in board meetings?_

Dick seemed to shrug off his previous thought.  “I guess you’re right.  We might even make the Gotham Gazette.  You need to have Alfred watch the papers while I’m gone; make sure we don’t miss it if there is an article.”

_Oh, kiddo, you have no idea what is in store for you._   “I suggested something similar to him yesterday.  Don’t worry, if we see anything, we’ll cut it out and save it for you.”  He nudged the boy sitting in his lap, “What do you say, one last patrol for the road, before your trip?”

Dick nodded enthusiastically.  “Yeah.  We need to bust a lot of bad guys tonight, since you will be on your own for most of next week.”

_Early Monday Morning…_

Bruce tiptoed his way into Dick’s room and up to the bed.  He stared at his son for several minutes before resigning himself to the fact that he had to wake the boy.  _He’s so peaceful-looking when he sleeps, I hate waking him.  God, sometimes I wish I could just pause time; he’s growing too fast.  I feel like I’m missing so much of his life._

Breaking out of his reverie, Bruce reached down and laid a gentle hand on Dick’s arm.  Rubbing lightly up and down the arm, Bruce whispered, “Dick, come on pal.  It’s time to wake up.”

A quiet, groggy moan emanated from the boy’s mouth.  Dick slurred as he whispered back, “Aww, can’t I have just a few more minutes, Alfred?”

Bruce smiled at what he assumed was a normal response from the child.  _Is this how he wakes up every day?_ “You really can’t kiddo.  I let you sleep as long as I could.  You need to get up now if we’re going to get you to the airport by ten.”

_Airport?  Oh yeah, the trip!_   Dick’s eyes snapped open as he remembered his plans for the next four days.  He sat up and stretched, finally looking at who was in the room with him.  “…Bruce?  You’re not Alfred.  Don’t you need to be at work, or something?”

“No, I need to take you to the airport.  Come on, get a move on.”

“…But, I thought…”  Dick trailed off as he saw a hurt look begin to form on Bruce’s face.  Dick allowed a soft smile to alight on his face as he realized he was hurting Bruce.  “Thanks for taking the time for me, Bruce.”

A smile started to return to Bruce’s features, “No place I’d rather be.  Hurry up, I’ll see you down at breakfast.”

Ten minutes later, Dick joined his father at the table for waffles.  Alfred hovered around the table, unable to hide the nervous energy that Bruce refused to let show.  Last night, Alfred had experienced his first nightmare since he was a child younger than Dick.  He dreamed that the trip his youngest charge was about to depart for ended in tragedy.  His visions were unspecific, amorphous, but weighed on his mind.  He then made the mistake of telling Bruce the nature of his disquiet when the man called him on his agitated state over an early cup of coffee.  To be honest, Bruce hadn’t slept too well the previous night, but there were no visions of doom in his slumber to report.

To say that Dick wasn’t nervous as well would be a lie.  He was definitely excited, but was a little too wary of what the following week would hold.  Just thinking about willingly leaving the manor for a week during the mostly silent breakfast was enough to make the normally careful child dribble syrup on his tie. 

Following Dick upstairs as the child went to change his school tie, Alfred gently confronted him in his room.  “Master Dick, are you feeling alright?”

Afraid that a negative answer would be enough to cancel his upcoming trip, Dick plastered a smile on his face and said, “Sure, Alfred.  I’m just excited.”  The waver in the boy’s voice was unmistakable.

“Could you, perhaps, be a little nervous, as well, Master Dick?”

Dick dropped his head and sighed.  “No, I’m not a little nervous.  I’m a _lot_ nervous.  It’s just been hitting me…this is the first time I’m going to be away from here for any length of time.  Even going to Ohio and spending the weekend with Wally didn’t feel like this, because it would have only taken three seconds to get home then.  I’m…I’m going to be flying without a net out there.  I want this to be a great week, but I can’t help thinking…well…”  Dick trailed off, unsure of what his next thought should be.

Alfred placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and said in a soft voice, “There comes a time in every Robin’s life when it must leave the nest and fly free.  It may come and go as it needs, building confidence in its abilities as it grows, until the day comes when the Robin is able to find a nest of its own.  You, young sir, are taking your first step, and like our feathered friend, some nerves are to be expected.  However, also like our feathered friend, you are more ready than you think.  So, take a page from our Robin’s book.  Go out there and have your adventure; the nest will be waiting for you when you return.  And, if following the example of one Robin is not enough, you can always draw on the talents and abilities of another.”

A solitary tear worked its way down Dick’s cheek as he engulfed the butler in a tight embrace, holding on until it was returned by the normally stoic servant.  The boy steadied himself in Alfred’s calming presence until Bruce’s voice wafted its way up the stairs, beckoning Dick to hurry, so he didn’t miss his flight.

Pulling away slightly, Dick looked up into Alfred’s eyes and asked, “Are you coming to the airport with us?”

“Of course, young sir.  I quite expect Master Bruce to be a bit of a basket case after your departure.  Someone needs to be able to return him to the manor safely.”

Dick was a bit shocked at what Alfred said.  “Wait, he’s not going to work today?”

“He shall be going to the office after lunch, but I daresay he is not too happy about it.”

As they reached the door of Dick’s room, Dick stopped and turned to the butler one last time.  “Don’t tell Bruce about this, okay?  The…the nerves?  I don’t want him to worry while I’m gone.”

Alfred smiled as he said, “He will not hear a word from me, but to tell you a secret, he already knows, and there is really no way for him to not worry about you.  He would worry if you were traveling across the country, and he would worry if you were safe, asleep in your bed.  That’s what parents do.”

As Alfred pulled the car around, Bruce and Dick stood in the foyer, enduring one of the few nervous silences to ever invade their relationship.  Bruce was fighting the urge to sweep Dick up into the tightest hug he could give without crushing the boy, in the hopes of not depressing the boy before they were separated for almost a week.  Dick, too, was having a hard time holding back the tears that wanted to come out and scream at his guardian just how much he was going to miss the man.

Bruce tried to break the silence, and said in a voice that only barely covered the nervous waver.  “You…you have your phone?  And your charger, did you pack your charger?”

Dick patted the phone in his pocket and said, “Y-yeah.  I charged it last night.  The charger is in my bag.”

“And money?  Do you have money?  You never know when you are going to need it.”

Dick patted another pocket, checking to make sure he had his wallet.  “Yes, Bruce, but you gave me too much.  I don’t really want or need to be carrying around five hundred dollars.”

Bruce smiled, a genuine smile, not the nervous one that held sway all through breakfast.  “If you see something you like, go ahead and get it.  If nothing else, you can always get Alfred a shirt that says, ‘I went to Metropolis and all I got was this lousy T-shirt.’”

Dick snorted a laugh and said, “How about I get you a Superman mug instead?  They must have those in Metropolis somewhere, right?”

Before Bruce could respond, the sound of an engine, and tires crunching gravel, announced the arrival of the car.  Bruce opened the front door, and turned back in time to see Dick pick up his suitcase with a shaking hand.  Dick stopped, knowing where Bruce’s eyes were looking, and gave a defeated sigh.  Holding the door open with one hand, Bruce reached out to the boy with his other.  Dick gratefully took the offered hand with his free one, and they walked out to the car together.

Dick spent the trip to the airport leaning into Bruce’s side as the billionaire kept his arm wrapped tightly around the boy’s shoulders.  No words passed between them; both were afraid to speak, lest they dissolve into tears.  Instead, they enjoyed the last few moments they would have together for close to a week.

Neither really wanted the ride to end, but they arrived at Gotham International Airport right on time.  Walking into the terminal, they headed for the gate to meet Dick’s class.  Approaching the gate, a behemoth of a man turned, noticed Dick, and waved the youth over.

Stunned at the size of the person waving at his son, Bruce leaned over and whispered into Dick’s ear.  “Is that one of your teachers, or a parent chaperone?”

Dick looked between the mountain of man and Bruce, then smiled and said, “That’s Mark, Bruce.  He’s my lab partner.”

Bruce’s eyes wanted to fall out of his head, “ _That’s Mark!?!_   I know you said he was big, but…Jesus.”

“I told you, he’s on the defensive line on the football team.”

“He _is_ the defensive line on the football team.”

Mr. Chang walked around the bulk of Dick’s lab partner and approached the family.  “I’m glad you could make it, Mr. Grayson.  The plane boards in just a few minutes.” He handed over a ticket and boarding pass.  “Here’s your ticket.  Are you planning on carrying on your bag, or checking it?”

“Hi, Mr. Chang.  Um…I was just going to carry it on.  Do they need to look it over at the gate, or is everything cleared?”

“Just let them know before we board.  Hurry up, though.  We are set to board the plane first.  Say your goodbyes and meet us at the gate.  Mr. Wayne, glad to see you make it today.”

“Mr. Chang.” Bruce shook the man’s hand, then waited for him to walk away.  Alone again, he looked Dick up and down.  He reached for the boy, who at the last minute turned to Alfred and pulled the butler into a tight hug.

“I’ll see you on Thursday, Alfred.  Take care of him for me, okay?”  Dick whispered to the older man.

“As always, Master Dick.  Have fun, but remember to behave.”  The butler replied in a tone that Bruce would later swear sounded watery.  He was a bit hurt that Dick would say goodbye to Alfred first, but immediately understood that Dick wanted to be close to Bruce until the last possible second, and this way wouldn’t have to cut that short in order to ensure Alfred wasn’t left out.

“Dad…” Dick stopped talking as he was engulfed by the larger man.  He found that, at the crucial moment, there were no other words that he could choke out without blubbering in front of his class.  It didn’t matter, Bruce understood, and that was all that mattered.

At Mr. Chang’s second call, Bruce finally let his boy go.  He wiped the moisture off of Dick’s cheek before letting him go completely.

Dick took two steps away before he ran into a couple hustling to make their own departure.  After apologizing, Dick realized that he had to turn away from Bruce to make his own destination.

“Don’t forget to call when you land and…you know…just call me.”  Bruce fumbled over his words.

Dick gave a small smile, “I’ll call when we land, and…you know…I’ll call if I need you.”

Dick turned to join his class, but not before noticing how far Bruce’s expression fell at Dick’s parting words.  Bruce watched until the boy, by far the smallest person in the line of school-uniformed students boarding the plane, had disappeared down the Jet way.

_He’ll call_ if _he needs me…_ IF _he needs me.  What if I need him?  He’s growing up, and I can’t stop it.  God, this is a terrible feeling._   “Alfred,” the billionaire said in a husky tone as he wavered on the spot.

“Yes, sir,” came the gentle reply as the butler approached closer, in case he had to catch the man.

“Take me home.”

“Of course, sir.”

Bruce couldn’t recall how he got back to the car, or how long it took for Alfred to get him situated in the back.  Dick’s final words played over and over in his mind as he bowed his head, catching his forehead in a palm.  He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, a sudden headache working its way forward from behind his eyes.

As the car started moving, Bruce’s cell phone rang in his suit pocket.  Bruce grumbled to himself, but still loud enough for the butler’s keen ears to catch.  “I really don’t need this.  Who would possibly be calling me right now?  Bruce Wayne,” the man growled into the receiver.

“Hi.”

Bruce’s demeanor took a one-eighty at that one syllable.  He reached forward and touched Alfred’s arm.  Catching his eye in the rearview mirror, he gestured for the man to pull over.  “Dickie.  Hi, chum.  What’s up?”

“I need you.”

Bruce was ready to jump through the window to race back into the terminal.  “I’ll be right there.  I don’t think they’ll let me on the plane, but…aren’t you on the plane yet?  I saw you board.”

He could hear the smile in the boy’s voice.  “No, it’s not that.  I…I realized what I said hurt you, and I didn’t want to do that.  I didn’t want to leave it…like that.  I don’t _need_ need you, like, right here right now, but I just wanted to let you know that I need you.  I’ll always need you.”

“Oh, chum.”  Bruce was choking back tears as his worth in the eyes of his son was validated.  “Thank you.  You have no idea how much better you’ve just made my day.”

Dick sniffed mightily on the other end of the call, “I’m sorry, Bruce.  I didn’t mean to brush you off like that.  I’m…I guess I’m just…really, really nervous.  The last thing I wanted to do was hurt you.”

Bruce wiped his eyes as he said, “You’ll do fine, Dick.  You’ll go out there…and have a good time…and impress the hell out of those LexCorp idiots; show them what the heart of Wayne Enterprises can do.  And then, you’ll come home…to me…and everything will be just as it should be, okay?  This will be a good experience, I promise…”

“Bruce, you’re rambling.”

“I know, kiddo, I know.  Thanks for calling.  You just call anytime you want.  Don’t worry about what time it is.  If I’m working, I’ll make the time for you.  If it’s night and you think I might be…out…then Alfred will find a way to…patch it through to me.  If it’s important, call.  If it’s not important, call anyway.  If you just want to hear my voice, or Alfred’s voice, if you need that, then that’s the most important call of all.  Believe me, I’ll want to hear your voice just as much as I hope you will want to hear mine.”

“Thanks, dad.  I’ll call.  I’ll call a lot.  I’ll see you Thursday.  You’re going to pick me up when we get back, right?”

“I wouldn’t miss it, pal.  Have fun, okay?”

“Okay, Bruce.  Bye.  I love you.”

“Bye, pal.  I l-love you, too.”

Bruce hung up the phone and sat back with a misty expression on his face.

Alfred spoke up softly from the driver’s seat.  “Well, Master Bruce?”

“He needs me, Alfred.  He still needs me.”

“Was there ever any doubt, sir?”

“There shouldn’t have been, but there was.  Alfred, how is it possible to love and hate something at the same time?  I love watching him grow up, because I get to see him on the journey, but I hate watching him grow, because I know one day that journey will take him away from me.  It kills me that we only have so much time.”

“You have answered your own question, Bruce, but to elaborate, you must enjoy the time you have, and not focus on the time you don’t.  I know you are not one for living in the moment without a plan for the future, but the moment is where you both reside.  No matter how glorious it would be, you cannot slow time.  Enjoy him while he’s still a boy, and you will be better able to appreciate him when he is a man.”

_He still needs me, and he loves me.  I don’t know what lucky star I’ve been under for the past few years, but I might just die if it ever chooses to fall on me._   Bruce wiped his face on a handkerchief and met Alfred’s eyes in the rearview mirror.  “Thank you, Alfred.  I don’t express that nearly as much as I should.  We…we can go home now.  I know you told Dick that you were going to make me lunch before I go into work this afternoon, but I would like you to join me.  I think you can make an exception this once.”

The car pulled smoothly away from the curb and into traffic, “I would be glad to, Master Bruce.”

Dick hung up his cell phone and stared at the blank screen for a minute.  _I really hurt him with that goodbye, I hope that helped make up for it.  I didn’t mean to, it just…came out wrong._

A hand big enough to crush Dick’s skull came into his peripheral vision, holding a tissue.  Startled, Dick took it and blew his nose, then looked up at the giant-sized teen sitting next to him.

“Thanks, Mark.  That was harder than I thought it would be.”

The oversized teen spoke in a gentle voice, one much softer and kinder than one would think possible from a teen the size of a professional wrestler.  “It looked like it.  You guys really have a tight relationship, don’t you?”

“It’s not just that.  This is the first time we are going to be apart for an extended period since he took me in.  I know, it’s less than a week, but…I don’t know…we rely on each other.  We need each other.  I think I get sick every time he has to go out of town for business.  He tells me just how much he hates it when he has to work late, and doesn’t get home until after I’m asleep.  We just…work.  Sometimes I think I’m closer to Bruce than I was even with my own parents.  We…understand each other, and that’s a great thing.”

Mark nudged Dick lightly, so as to not send him sprawling into the aisle.  “That…is amazing.  I wish I was that close with my dad.  I know he loves me, but it’s nothing on _that_ level.  You’re a lucky guy, Grayson.”

Dick blushed.  _Wow, I don’t think I’ve even told Wally things like that.  Why is it so easy to talk to Mark?_   “Thanks.”

“Right, enough of the sappy stuff.  We have a week in Metropolis ahead of us.  What are you looking forward to the most, Grayson?”

Dick thought for a long second.  “Gosh, the tour, I guess.  I want to see how different LexCorp R&D is from Wayne Enterprises R&D.  I’ve been down there a couple times, and Bruce has a pretty impressive operation going there.  I would be surprised if it is too different.”

Mark’s mouth hung open, “When did you get to tour _Wayne Enterprises_?  That sounds like it would be awesome.  God, if I wasn’t aiming for the Army, I would kill to work there.”

Dick looked at his lab partner strangely, “Mark, you do know who my guardian is, right?  The guy who dropped me off?  Well, the younger guy?”

The teen snapped his mouth shut, remembering several conversations he had with the boy earlier in the school year.  His cheeks flushed as he said, “Oh, yeah.  I forgot.  But in my defense, it’s kind of hard to associate the two of you, when you keep your last name.  I mean, your parents last name.  So, that was Bruce Wayne?  He’s bigger than I thought he would be.”

“I don’t think I can legally take Bruce’s last name.  He’s my guardian; the court wouldn’t approve a full adoption.  Besides, I think I’m the last Grayson.  I kinda like carrying that tradition.  Makes me feel…special, you know?  Like…like I’m keeping them alive for the future.  Besides, Dick Wayne just doesn’t sound right, and Dick Grayson-Wayne makes it sound like we got married, instead of adopted.”

Mark thought on what he heard for a minute before saying, “Okay, let’s get off the depressing topics.  This week is going to be fun.  You ever been to Metropolis before?”

Dick wondered exactly how he should answer that question, since the answer had the power to send the conversation back into the depressing topics.  “Yeah, but it’s been a while.  A long while.  I…I don’t really remember too much of it, and we stayed towards the edge of town.”

“Oh.  Right, sorry.  Still, though, if you don’t remember too much of it, then everything will be new to you, too.”  _Geez, is there any topic that won’t depress this kid?_

The plane performed a smooth ascent to cruising altitude.  Mark had his face plastered to the window like one would expect from a person of Dick’s age.  Mark had offered Dick the window seat, but Dick had refused for two reasons.  First, he remembered his flight into California for his eleventh birthday, and how sick he became on landing.  He didn’t want a repeat of that, and figured if he couldn’t see the plane descending, then everything would be okay.  Second, he didn’t want to be trapped between Mark and the wall should there be any problems with turbulence or other air issues that could possibly send the large body hurtling towards him with crushing speed.  Dick figured that with an aisle seat, he would be able to dive out of the way if he had to.

Mark kept his face in the window as he said softly, “Do you think we’ll see _him_?”

“Do I think we’ll see who?” Dick asked quizzically.

“Superman!”

“You’re kidding, right?”  Dick snorted a laugh.

“No, I’m not kidding.  Superman is awesome!  The dude can fly, what can be cooler than that?”

Dick shook his head, “Wait, you’re the muscle-head jock, _I’m_ the 98-pound weakling nerd.  Aren’t I supposed to be the one interested in superheroes?  Aren’t you supposed to be the one pushing me into the lockers for obsessing about crime-fighting vigilante heroes?”

Mark looked at the smaller child with a devious grin, “Stereotypes are made to be shattered.  Besides, you are _not_ ninety-eight pounds.”

“Okay, fine, ninety-five.” Mark gave him a disbelieving look, “Okay, ninety-ish.”  It was actually lower, but the preteen didn’t need to admit how much lower it was.

Mark had returned his face to the window, eager for some indication of his hero.  Dick shook his head before nudging the older boy.  “Okay, Mark.  First of all, we just took off.  If you look down, you will see that we are still over Gotham City.  We’re an hour and a half away from Metropolis.  In other words, you can’t see Superman from here.  Second, you don’t actually _want_ to see Superman.  If we’re seeing Superman, then that means that there is some sort of major problem or disaster happening.  Third, you’re from Gotham City, show a little loyalty to the hometown team.  Batman is _much_ better than Superman.”

The full laugh given off by the football player caused a massive internal struggle inside the acrobat to keep Robin from making an appearance.  _I can’t handle this the Batman way.  I don’t want to lose a friend, and I can convince him other ways._

“Batman?  You really think Batman is better than Superman?  Okay, sure, the whole ‘Dark Knight’ thing is cool, I’ll give you that.  But…come on!  Batman is just a man.  Superman is…well, super.”

_Batman’s done a lot of super things…that I can’t let on knowing about, like trying to adopt an orphaned circus acrobat._ “The fact that he is ‘just a man’ is what makes him better.  Superman has powers to help him fight crime.  Batman had to invent gadgets and learn detective work to solve crimes.”

“The crime rate in Metropolis is, like, half of what it is in Gotham.  Don’t you think that means that Superman is doing a better job?”

“They also only have two-thirds the population, and none of the crime-prone areas like Gotham does.  Metropolis doesn’t have the docks, or the warehouse district, or the organized crime presence.”

Dick felt he may have said too much as Mark skewered him with a glance.  “How do you know so much about the crime patterns in Gotham?”

_Uh-oh.  Think fast, Grayson.  Something…anything believable.  Let’s go, brain, give me something!_   “Well, I’ve been doing some research for…history class.  I wrote a paper on the recent history of Gotham.  Let’s face it, crime is a part of everyday life in the city.  It was a big focus of my paper.”

Internally, Dick was wiping the sweat from his forehead as he saw that Mark bought his explanation.  Externally, he appeared cool and collected.  _This is a very surreal conversation to be having.  I have to defend my dad against my uncle, without giving my relationship to either of them away.  What did I get myself into?_   “Okay, Mark, why don’t you give me some reasons why Superman is better?”

“Come on, Grayson, that’s easy.  He can fly, he’s strong as hell, he’s bulletproof…what more could you want?  Besides, you actually _see_ Superman.  He talks to the press; he does charity work.  You only ever see bits of Batman from security camera footage as he beats someone up.”

_There is that to consider._   “Maybe that’s how he likes it?  Maybe Batman doesn’t need to be seen doing his good works for the city?  Bruce always tells me that true charity comes from the heart, not the mouth.  You don’t need to be seen doing the good works, you just need to do them.”

Mark shrugged, ruminating on the turn in conversation.  “Huh.  I guess you’re right about that.  Still, though, dude can fly.”

Dick laughed, “Yeah.  That is pretty cool.  Hey…do you know what the schedule is like for us when we’re not on the tour and presenting to the board?”

Mark shook his head, “No, I don’t think they told us.  Why?”

“I was just wondering if I would have time to see my uncle while we’re in Metropolis.”

Mark’s head snapped to stare at Dick, shocked at the news, “Wait, you have an uncle?  Then why do you live with Mr. Wayne?  Or, is he Bruce Wayne’s brother?  I didn’t know Mr. Wayne _had_ a brother.”

“Well…yes and no.  I am an only child of only children, and Bruce was an only child, as well.  He’s just a really close friend of Bruce’s.  I call him ‘uncle’.  It just makes things easier.”

Mark nodded, “Oh.  I have an aunt like that.  She was my mom’s best friend, so…yeah, it’s just easier to call her ‘aunt’.  Your uncle lives in Metropolis?”

“Yeah, he’s a reporter for the Daily Planet.  Bruce said Uncle Clark would see me, even if I don’t see him.  I don’t know what he meant by that, but it sounds a little creepy.”

“Yeah, it does.  You should call him when we land.  Maybe he can come by the hotel?”

Dick smirked up at the teen, “Sounds like a plan.  Hey, Superman may be able to fly, which is cool, but the Batmobile…come on.  It doesn’t _get_ cooler than that.”

The pair grew quiet as the flight attendant came by with drinks and honey-roasted peanuts.  Having only picked at his breakfast, Dick was close to ravenous as he upended the small bag straight into his mouth and crunched away.

Mark watched him with a smirk and a small laugh.  “What, did you skip breakfast, or something?”

“More or less.”

The pair discussed their hopes for the upcoming week as the plane circled the Metropolis airport, stationary in a holding pattern as they awaited clearance to land.  Finally, thirty minutes after their intended arrival time, the commuter plane landed with nary a bump.  Dick was overjoyed that his decision to avoid the windows during landing had been proven to be a good choice, and his stomach didn’t rebel when descending to Earth.

Mr. Chang held his students on the plane, waiting for the rest of the passengers to disembark before addressing his students.

“Class, I just want to let you know what to expect when we get off the plane.  I am told that we will be met by a representative from LexCorp.  If anyone has checked baggage, you will be taken to the luggage carrousel by Mr. Peters.  Mr. Peters, I would like to take this time to thank you for volunteering to chaperone this trip.  Once you have your luggage, we will meet at the curb, where LexCorp has arranged for transportation to our hotel.  You all have your room assignments, all we need to do is get the room keys.  Once at the hotel, we will meet to go over our itinerary.  Sound good?  If there are no questions, then we can go ahead and disembark.”

The students and chaperones all grabbed their bags and headed for the exit door.  Dick was the last student in line, and as such could not see the commotion at the end of the jet way.  He could definitely hear it, though, and wondered what exactly was waiting on the other side of the door.

Whatever he was expecting was nothing compared to what met his eyes.  He lined up with the class just past the door leading into the terminal and stood slack-jawed and staring in disbelief at the reception awaiting them.  The students were blinded by flashbulbs and spotlights as representatives from every major form of Metropolis and Gotham media swarmed the awestruck students, shouting questions and hoping to get the students to look in their direction to get better photographs.  Dick blinked the stars from his eyes the best he could as he scanned the crowd, looking for a specific, familiar face.  _I see what Bruce meant when he said Uncle Clark would see me, even if I didn’t see him.  He had to have known this was going to happen; I bet Uncle Clark told him._

Off to the right of the flock of media, mild mannered reporter Clark Kent tried not to be too obvious as he attempted to catch the eye of the youngest, and by far smallest, student in the line.  He smiled as he saw the boy looking just as stunned as the rest of the class.  Dick unconsciously scooted closer to the mountain of teen next to him, not quite touching, but definitely close enough to hide behind if anything should happen.  _He looks nervous.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen Dick look nervous; then again, I usually see him in costume.  You can’t be nervous as Robin, I guess.  Bruce obviously didn’t tell him that the press would be here._

A full three minutes after disembarking, Dick’s gaze traveled the full arc of reporters.  He almost missed the Kryptonian farm boy in the crowd.  Clark’s disguise of black-rimmed glasses and a suit almost allowed the boy to look past the one face he hoped to see at that moment.  He was finally able to release the breath he had been holding as Clark shot him a wink in response to Dick’s smile.

Seeing the man who would be Super, Dick leaned over and tapped Mark on the elbow.  Speaking in a normal voice, which was barely heard over the shouting reporters, Dick said, “Well, no Superman.”

Mark leaned down and replied, “I really wouldn’t mind him here right now.  He might be able to get us through this crowd without getting mauled.”

“No kidding,” Dick replied.

“You see your uncle?” Mark asked as he scanned the crowd.

Dick glanced back to Clark and decided it was safe to point him out, since there was no chance of actually talking to him in this type of situation.  “Yeah.  He’s off to the left, about ten o’clock.  Grey suit, black glasses, dark hair.  Standing next to the woman in the purple dress and the photographer that looks younger than I do.”

Mark nodded as he was able to pick out Clark, Lois, and Jimmy.  He snorted at Dick’s description of Jimmy Olsen and responded, “Grayson, no one looks younger than you do.”

Before Dick could reply, their LexCorp representative extracted himself from the crowd and moved forward to greet Mr. Chang.  Dick stiffened as he recognized the tall, well-built, bald man wearing the crisp, black suit. Taking a deep breath and trying to relax, he leaned in to make a comment to Mark.

The older teen spoke first, saying, “Huh.  That must be the guy they sent to meet us.  Must be some board member, or something.”

Dick’s look changed from carefully guarded to disbelieving as he turned fully to face Mark.  “You’re kidding, right?  You seriously don’t know who that is?”

Mark shook his head, “No, why?”

“Mark, that’s Lex Luthor.  I can’t believe he actually came to meet us himself.”

The crowd was silenced immediately as Luthor held up a hand.  Every eye in the terminal shifted to the shiny-headed businessman.  Out of the corner of his eye, Dick saw Lois and Jimmy peel off from the crowd and approach the line of students.  Lois directed Jimmy to get pictures of Luthor from the student’s perspective, as well as handshake shots.

Lex spoke, addressing the assembled students and staff.  “Mr. Chang, students, welcome to Metropolis.  I am Lex Luthor, and it is my honor to be your host for the next four days.  Let me be the first to say congratulations on your accomplishment.  Over eight thousand entries were received for the National Science Competition from across the country, and your project beat them all.  I look forward to your presentation to my board on Wednesday, but for now I would just like to meet each of you and tell you what an impressive accomplishment you have achieved.”

Lex Luthor worked his way down the line of teachers, chaperones, and students, shaking hands and making practiced small talk with each new person.  Lois’ hand was a blur as she took notes, moving down the line in time with Luthor, standing behind the students, as Jimmy’s camera clicked furiously.  Clark took his own notes, but wasn’t really there for this part of the story.  He had been assigned to perform the full group interview tomorrow, and was only at the airport to get background material for the article, and to provide a friendly face for Dick.

“He looks like such a little gentleman in that suit, doesn’t he?” A female voice asked from behind Clark’s shoulder.

The man smiled and answered, “Yes, he does.  And he really is…Diana?  What are you doing here?”

The civilian-garbed Wonder Woman stepped to Clark’s side, neither taking their eyes off of Dick.  She said, “Are you kidding?  After the way Bruce was carrying on and bragging at the meeting on Saturday?  I wasn’t going to miss this.  I have to say, though, I am quite surprised that _he_ missed it.”

“Well, he has his own company to run.  I will tell you a secret, though.  It’s killing him not being here.  I don’t think I can count the number of threatening text messages he’s sent me over the past week, reminding me to keep the city, and through that, his son, safe while he’s here.”

Diana smiled as Dick looked back in Clark’s direction, not recognizing the Amazon to the man’s right.  To be fair, Diana was standing far enough away to look like just another face in the crowd, and Dick had no reason to expect to see her there.  Diana’s smile faded as she caught the subtext inherent in the glance.  She took a half step closer to Clark and said, “He’s nervous.  He used to be a performer, I would think he would be used to being in front of the cameras.”

Clark leaned a bit closer and said, “First, it’s been several years since he was a performer, and Bruce didn’t tell him there would be a media presence at the airport, so this reception is a bit of a shock to him.  Second, it’s not the cameras that has him nervous.”

The smiling CEO of LexCorp was only two people away from Dick as Diana said, “Then what is it?”

“Bruce let Dick read his file on Luthor a couple weeks ago.  Dick is doing his best to ignore the fact that he is about to shake hands with a man who has given Superman a run for his money in the past.  He is also about to be introduced to the man who runs the main competition to what will one day be _his_ company.  If I had to guess, I would say there is a very fierce war going on in his little head over what should be the dominant emotion.  On the one hand, he is probably thinking that his arm is about to be melted off, or something.  On the other hand, he desperately wants to be loyal to Bruce.  According to Bruce, Dick was thinking he had betrayed Wayne Enterprises, a company that he is still six years and several educational degrees away from even being able to apply to work for, just for taking part in a school project that was entered into a competition partially funded by LexCorp.”

Diana nodded as Lex finished talking with Mark and approached Dick.  “Which side do you think will win?”

Clark smiled as he watched Dick reach up with a shaky hand to grasp the proffered, larger hand.  “The side that always wins when one of the Wayne boys is thrust into a new situation, Alfred.”

Dick had to crane his neck to look up into the smiling face of the CEO of Metropolis’ largest company.  The overhead lights were angled just enough to add a gleam to the bald head, bringing a smile that had nothing to do with politeness and decorum to Dick’s face.  _He’s taller than I thought.  I’ll have to get on Bruce to adjust the files.  There was no height listing in the demographics section._

“Hello, young man.  I’m Lex Luthor.  Congratulations on your accomplishment.  What’s your name?”

Dick gulped nervously as the businessman extended a hand.  The slight shake in the boy’s hand didn’t make its way to his voice as Alfred’s etiquette training took over.  He grasped the offered hand tightly, but without the sort of grip strength that Robin might have used to try to incapacitate a thug while on patrol, and said, “Hello, sir.  It’s nice to meet you.  I’m Dick Grayson, sir.”

Lex and Lois gave matching shocked starts.  Luthor sprouted a clever grin as he recognized the name.  He knew the boy was in the winning class, his name had been on the project, and he knew the connection to his business rival, but he never imagined that Bruce Wayne would let his ward walk into Luthor’s building.  Lois, also recognizing the name and connection, nudged Jimmy and hissed urgently to get more pictures of the boy and businessman shaking hands.

From across the terminal, Clark sighed as he caught the introduction with his super hearing.

“What is it?” Diana asked as she heard the sigh escape the man next to her.

“As I thought would happen.  Lex and Lois recognized Dick.  I’m kind of surprised that Lex didn’t know him on sight.  Sorry, Diana, I have to go and save Dick.”

The Amazon looked around, looking for a threat.  “Save him from what?”

“From Lois.  She is going to twist the whole article into a feature story of the Wayne scion coming to the enemy.  I can’t let that happen.  Dick has a hard enough time fitting in at school without the press turning this into _his_ project.”

“I understand, Clark.  If you get to talk to him, tell him I said hi, and that he looks cute in his school uniform.”

Clark smiled, “Somehow, I don’t think that last part would sound right, coming from me.  Maybe you should save that for next Saturday’s meeting, but I’ll tell him you said hi.”

Diana walked away as Lois and Jimmy approached.  The mass of reporters were asked to give the kids space while they were escorted to the LexCorp limousines, waiting to take them to their hotel.  Lois was practically glowing as she said excitedly, “Clark, do you know who that was?  The little one at the end of the line?”

Clark sighed again and said, “Yes, Lois.  I do.  I’m friends with Bruce Wayne, remember?”

She frantically scribbled in her notes, changing the story for her article on the fly.  “This changes everything.  Clark, I need background on him.  We have a new focus for the article.”

Clark gave her a stern look, “No, Lois, we don’t.  This isn’t an article about how Bruce Wayne’s ward won the National Science Competition.  This is an article about how the whole class worked together to finish an important project.  You can’t focus on just one student, no matter how rich or famous his guardian is.  It won’t do Dick any good, and Bruce will blame me, even if it is written under your byline.”

Lois looked shocked, “You’re serious, aren’t you, Clark.  I didn’t think you even knew the boy, he’s never shown up in one of your exclusives.”

“That’s out of respect for a kid who’s had a hard life, and is still adjusting to his new surroundings, even after several years.  It’s also been a request from a guardian, looking out for the safety and privacy of his underage ward.  Bruce is a private man, he wants that to extend to the boy, as well.  Yes, I’m serious, and yes, I know Dick well.  He’s a great kid, and knowing him, if you base the article on just him, instead of the whole class, it will hurt him greatly.  Don’t do it, Lois.  Just stick to the original article.  You already have a guaranteed front page, above the fold, from Perry.  Focusing on Dick won’t get the article any better positioning.”

Lois looked put out, but inside she completely understood where Clark was coming from.  _I didn’t know he was so close to Bruce Wayne.  Definitely didn’t think they were close enough for Clark to get to know his kid.  There may be more going on here than meets the eye._   “Okay, Clark.  I’ll go along with that, for now.  The story will be about the class, but the picture will be Luthor and Grayson shaking hands.”

“Thanks, Lois.  I think he’ll like that.  Come with me tomorrow when I do the interviews, I’ll introduce you to him.  You’ll like him, trust me.”

An hour later, after checking into the hotel and going over the itinerary with Mr. Chang, Dick and Mark settled into their room.  Mark stared at the phone on the nightstand in between the beds, then over to Dick, who was taking his shoes off and getting ready for a nap.  After the plane trip and the frenzy with the media, the younger boy was getting a headache.  All he wanted to do was talk to Bruce and then take a nap.

Mark reached for the phone just as Dick flopped back on his bed.  Mark pulled back and said, “Why don’t you go ahead, Grayson.  I know you said you would call Mr. Wayne when we landed.”

Dick turned his head and gave Mark a strange look.  “Thanks for reminding me to call, but if you want to check in with the Colonel, go ahead.  I have my cell phone, I’ll call from that.”

Mark’s face brightened at that, and he snatched up the phone and dialed his father’s office number.  Dick smiled and pulled the phone out of his pocket.  He was rather surprised to find that there were no messages waiting for him.  Dick was over an hour late in checking in; if there wasn’t a waiting message, Dick had to assume that Bruce was already on the next flight out.  Trying to not listen in to Mark’s conversation on the other side of the room, Dick dialed the second preset number, Bruce’s cell phone.

The call was answered on the first ring.  “Hey, chum.  I expected you to call sooner.  Were there any problems?”

A smile blossomed on the boy’s face at hearing Bruce’s voice.  “Yeah, we took off ten minutes late, then landed thirty minutes late, then we were held up at the terminal by…”

“By what, pal?”  Dick wasn’t sure if the tone of voice was concerned or knowing.

“Well…I really don’t know how to describe it.  I guess the news would call it a media frenzy.  I’d just call it crazy, and nothing I’d really like to do again.”

Dick definitely heard a smile as Bruce said, “Oh, were there reporters at the airport?”

Dick closed his eyes, shook his head, and knew that Bruce was leading him on.  “You talked to Uncle Clark weeks ago, you knew there were going to be reporters there.  Why didn’t you tell me?  None of us were prepared for…that.”

“I know, pal, but Clark thought it would be a neat surprise if you didn’t know.”

“Did he,” Dick deadpanned, “Thanks.  Now I know exactly how to play the interview tomorrow.”

“You made the news, kiddo.”

Dick shouldn’t have been surprised at that, but for some reason, he was.  “We did?”

“No, Dick.  _You_ did.  I’m looking at the webpage for the Daily Planet, and the front page photo is you shaking hands with Lex Luthor.  The same picture is on the webpage of the Gotham Gazette, and Alfred is recording the channel three news because they teased the story of your class landing in Metropolis.”

Dick was silent for a good minute after hearing that.  _No.  Why did they use a picture of me?  It was a class project, we all worked on it together.  It’s not fair that they just use pictures of me.  Is it because of my connection to Bruce, or because I’m the smallest, and it makes it look like a greater feat?  I need to talk to Uncle Clark, maybe he can do something about it._

“Dick?  You still there?” A concerned tone sounded through the speaker.

“Why did they have to use a picture of just me?  They took enough pictures, there had to be one good shot of the entire class.  Why couldn’t they have used that?”  Dick didn’t want to cry, but his frustration was building up too quickly.  _Maybe I shouldn’t have come on the trip?_

Bruce was growing concerned at Dick’s tone of voice.  “Hey, easy pal.  It’s okay.  It’s a really good picture, I can see why they chose it.  If it bothers you this much, do you want me to call Clark and see if there is anything he can do about it?”

“No, I want to call him myself.  I don’t want people thinking that this was something _I_ did.  This was a group project, everyone deserves the credit.  Maybe I shouldn’t have come on the trip, after all.”

Bruce sounded vehement on the other end of the call.  “ _No, Dick._   You have every right to be there, just as you have every right to get your picture in the paper…”

“I don’t have any more right than anyone else in the class.  It should be everyone, or no one.”  Dick’s tone was just as strong.  “I’m getting a headache, Bruce.  We landed safely, we’re at the hotel, everything’s okay.  I’m going to take a nap, then call Uncle Clark.  Then, I’m going to have to explain this to the class.  I’ll call you before bed tonight, Bruce.  Bye.”

“…Bye, chum,” Bruce spoke into the phone, three seconds after Dick hung up without waiting for a reply from his father.

“Dick?  You okay over there?” Mark asked softly.  His conversation was completed before Dick’s.

“No.  I’m not okay over here.  I need your help, Mark.  Bruce told me that we already made the news for our landing in Metropolis.  He also told me that the front page picture of the Daily Planet and the Gotham Gazette is me shaking hands with Lex Luthor.  He didn’t tell me what the article said, just that the picture that should have been of the entire class was just one of me.  How do I explain that to the rest of the class?”

“We made the papers?  That’s so cool.  Why do you have to explain it?  You didn’t ask for them to use a picture of just you, right?”

Dick sighed, an arm thrown over his eyes, “No, of course not.  It’s just…this was a group project.  I didn’t do any more than anyone else in the class.  There is no reason to focus on me when there were eleven other participants who deserve to have their picture on the front page just as much, if not more, than I do.  I…I just don’t want them to hate me, Mark.”

Dick’s bed dipped sharply as the large teen sat next to the boy.  “No one’s going to hate you, Dick.  Why don’t you just take that nap you were talking about, and then we’ll go talk to Mr. Chang.”

Dick pulled himself up onto the bed fully, and lay on his side, facing the older boy.  “That sounds good.  Thanks, Mark.”  Dick was asleep within minutes.

As soon as Mark was sure that Dick was asleep, he went straight to Mr. Chang and reported what Dick had told him.  Mark made sure to emphasize just how bad Dick felt about the turn of events, and how distraught it made him to be singled out.  Mr. Chang called the class together, minus Dick, and explained the situation.  Unsurprising to Mark and Mr. Chang, no one was upset about the picture, especially not after hearing how Dick described it to Mark.  Everything settled, the meeting was ended, and Mark returned to his shared room, thinking that a nap was a good idea.

Forty-five minutes later, the boy behemoth was awoken by the sounds of shoelaces being tortured.  He glanced over blearily and saw Dick yank on the laces with enough force to tear the eyelets from the shoes, were they of lesser construction.  He could hear the fabric of the laces grind violently against the metal of the eyelets, and he could honestly say that, up until this time, he had never seen a shoelace bow tied in anger.

Dick rose and headed for the door, looking for Mr. Chang in order to assuage his guilty conscience.  Dick only stopped at the door when Mark flagged him down.

“Hey, Grayson.  Wait.”

Dick heaved a sigh larger than himself as he turned to his roommate.  “Wait for what?  Oh, yeah, you said you’d come with me.” Dick walked back into the room and sat down on his bed, staring at his lab partner expectantly.  “Come on, let’s go find Mr. Chang.”

“You don’t need to do that.”

Dick cocked his head, “What do you mean?  I have to find a way to explain this.  The rest of the class is going to be pissed when they see the papers.”

Mark sat up and leaned forward to get closer to the smaller boy’s level.  “They won’t be pissed, trust me.  Hey, I’m not pissed, and they aren’t pissed either.”

“How could you possibly know that?”

It was Mark’s turn to sigh, “Because…while you were sleeping, I told Mr. Chang about the newspapers.”

Dick’s eyes grew wide, “ _What?_ ”

Mark continued, “…Mr. Chang told the rest of the class about the picture.  Now, I know you only have my word to go on, but believe me when I say that you are the only one who is pissed about making the paper.  Everyone else was just excited that we got a front page story, they could care less about the picture.”

Dick thought about it for a minute.  _I’m still nowhere near popular.  I don’t have too many friends at school.  I will always be the smallest person in my class.  But…I don’t think Mark would lie to me.  He’s just not that kind of person.  It doesn’t benefit him in any way to deceive me, and he’s just an overall honest person.  Maybe that’s why I like him so much, he reminds me of all the things dad said are necessary to be a good person._   “…I still think it should have been a class picture.”

Mark shook his head.  “Grayson, what would you be saying right now if it were a picture of me in the paper, instead of you?”

“I’d be congratulating you on getting your picture in the paper.”

“You wouldn’t still think it should be a group shot?”

Dick opened his mouth to reply, but his words hitched to a stop before he could say anything.  He thought for another second before saying slowly, “No, I guess I wouldn’t think that.”

Mark nodded, “Okay, then why would it be okay for me to get my picture in the paper, or following that line of thinking, for anyone else in the class to be on the front page, but not you?”

“Mark, you don’t understand.  It’s different when it’s me.”  The older teen was looking more confused that his line of thought hadn’t immediately worked in changing Dick’s mind, so Dick laid it all out.  “Look, I am connected to a very rich local celebrity.  There is no way for me to be mentioned in the paper without people thinking of Bruce.  When people think of rich people, their thoughts automatically go to the money.  It gets to the point that the average joe thinks the only way rich people, and those connected to them, are able to do anything is through buying it.  You never hear of celebrities _earning_ anything, or _working_ for anything; everything is always _handed_ to them.  Like it or not, true or not, people make the connection between Bruce and myself, and they think ‘Oh, how much did Bruce pay for the kid to do that?’

Dick took a deep breath, “Now, the class and the school have earned a great honor by winning the science competition.  We _earned_ it, fair and square.  Now, we have the press coverage, and the cover shot of me, the adoptive son of a billionaire.  Once people make the connection, it leads them to two thoughts.  First, how much did Bruce pay to get me into the Advanced Chemistry class, and did I actually do anything to assist the project.  Second, did we actually win the contest, or were the results purchased?  We all worked really hard on this.  It’s not fair to the rest of the class for the results of the competition to be questioned in that way.  I don’t want our accomplishment cheapened through accusation of misdeeds or corruption.  It’s not fair to everyone if their work is called into question just because my adoptive dad happens to have a lot of money.  So, yes, when the spotlight is on anyone else, or everyone else, it’s okay.  When the spotlight is on me, bad things could happen; things that wouldn’t happen if my name weren’t attached to the project.”

Mark was silent for a long minute, new and slightly unpleasant thoughts running through his head.  “Damn, Grayson.  I never would have thought of any of that.  Is that what it’s like being rich?  Always having to wonder what the next accusation against you is going to be?”

Dick sighed, “ _Bruce_ is rich; I’m just along for the ride.  But, yes, we spend a lot of time double and triple checking any decisions before they’re made.  Don’t get me wrong: I love Bruce, and I will be grateful until the day I die for what he has done for me, but I miss the anonymity that came with not being in the spotlight.”

Mark smirked at the boy, “Didn’t you say that you were part of a circus growing up?  Did you have spotlights there, or did people just have to guess what was going on?”

Dick rolled his eyes and shook his head.  However, his mood lightened incrementally at the joke.  “Yes, I grew up as a performer in a traveling circus, and yes, we did have spotlights during the shows.  But, when we weren’t performing, we could just be…normal people.  We could go to the grocery store without reporters following us.  We could drive around towns without needing security guards or police escorts, or having people try to follow us home.  If someone did recognize us, the comments were always positive.  ‘Hey, caught the show a couple days ago, good job’, that kind of thing.  Not the frenzy that follows Bruce almost everywhere he goes.”

Both boys were silent for several minutes, Dick brooding and Mark introspective.  Finally, the large teen reached out a hand and placed it gently on Dick’s shoulder and said, “Hey, I am only guessing that I’m speaking for the rest of the class right now.  I mean, I believe it, and I’m sure the rest do, too, but believe me, none of us think of you that way.”

“Yeah, I’m sure you guys barely think of me at all,” Dick scoffed.

“Diiick,” Mark growled, “To us, you’re just another student.  You pulled your weight, just like everyone else on the project did.”  Dick grew a twinkle in his eye at that remark, thinking of how he was by far the smallest, lightest person in the class.  Mark continued, “You worked your way into the class, and you consistently outperform almost everyone.  And…you don’t rub it in; you don’t brag.  You try to find ways to help others.  Maybe the press _should_ focus on you, if for no other reason than to disprove everything you just said about the entitlement of the wealthy.”

“Mark, I got over needing the limelight a long time ago.  I can’t do things just for the accolades.  I just have to do them for myself.  There is no reason to blow my own horn, especially when no one wants to hear it.  It’s just so much easier, and less frustrating, to only worry about the goals that I set for myself.  When I meet my goals, it makes me feel good, and allows me to set new goals.  That way, the only person I disappoint is myself.”

“That’s sad, Grayson, but also, kinda inspirational.  Who would have thought you could fit so much brain in such a small package?”

Dick’s reply to the jab was cut off by a knock at the door.  Dick answered the door to find Mr. Peters, their parent chaperone for the trip.  He informed the boys that the class was headed out to get dinner, and that they should come join in with the group.  They went to a local pizza parlor, where Dick and Mark explained more about the newspaper picture, and Dick’s thought process on why it was a bad thing for him to be featured so prominently.  As Mark had assured Dick, no one in the class felt any ill will towards their youngest member.  It seemed that no one cared what the rest of the world potentially thought about their project, and their class membership; they knew what they had accomplished, and they couldn’t care less what the society columns said about it.  All their professed goodwill and encouragement, however, didn’t stop them from graciously accepting when Dick offered to pay for dinner as an apology to the class.  If free food would help the young student feel better, who were they to say no to pizza on the dime of a billionaire?

Several hours later, Dick and Mark returned to their room in much better spirits than when they had left.  Mark flopped down on his bed and turned the TV on before quickly turning it back off.  “Hey, weren’t you going to call your uncle?  I can wait to watch something until after you do that, if the noise will bother you.”

Dick smiled at the considerate question.  “Go ahead and watch something; the noise won’t bother me.  Besides, I was going to take a shower first, then call him after.  That okay with you?”

“Why would I have a problem with that?” Mark asked, confused.

“Well, I didn’t know if you needed to go in there, or…”

“Go ahead,” Mark interrupted, “I’m more a shower in the morning person, anyway.  Say, won’t it be kind of late by the time you call your uncle?  Doesn’t he have to work in the morning?”

Dick gave an evil grin as he pulled his pajamas and toiletry bag from his suitcase.  “Yes, it will be late, and I’m sure he has to be in the office early tomorrow, but Uncle Clark chose not to tell me about the media circus this morning, so that is his punishment.”  Dick wasn’t about to let on that his uncle was a bit more other-worldly than normal, and didn’t actually need to sleep.

Mark gave the small boy a sidelong glance and joked, “Wow, you have a bit of a mean streak to you, don’t you, Grayson?”

The evil grin grew as Dick tossed lightly over his shoulder, “You don’t snore, do you?” before closing himself in the bathroom.  Mark didn’t know whether to be concerned for his safety, or just glad that the seemingly sullen boy had been able to cheer up.  Mark was known for snoring, which kept the concern in his head the entire time Dick was in the shower, despite finding one of his favorite movies showing on TV.

Mark was determined to mention his propensity for snoring as soon as Dick got out of the bathroom, but his train of thought was derailed when he glanced over and saw the boy reenter the room.

“Damn, Grayson.  How many sit-ups do you do a day?”

Dick had taken his time in the shower, then brushed his teeth and was ready to go to sleep right after calling Clark, but he had forgotten Bruce’s Wayne Enterprises shirt in his bag before retreating to the bathroom.  The question so threw the Boy Wonder that he stopped rummaging through his suitcase and stared dumbly at Mark.  _Sit-ups?  What does he mean…oh, right, not wearing a shirt._

Dick smiled and answered, “Um…none?  Unless they have us doing them in PE.”

Mark sat up, shocked, and said, “Well, how…”

Dick interrupted, his smile shining, “Football isn’t the only way to stay in shape, you know.  Just because I’m not in a circus anymore, doesn’t mean I stopped exercising and staying in performance shape.  Gymnastics is actually more of a full-body workout than anything they have you doing in football practice.”

Mark cocked his head slightly, “Jamie said you were built, but…I didn’t believe her.  I mean…you’re so small.  I just didn’t expect…that.”

_Jamie?  Who’s…oh yeah, Jamie from the gymnastics team.  I forgot she was dating Mark._   Dick was laughing now as he looked down objectively at his six-pack, sculpted chest, and the larger than expected biceps and triceps, especially for a boy his size and age.  _Well, okay…is it conceited to admit to myself that I’m in really good shape, thanks to Robin?  I think it is, but looking at it objectively, I guess this is just something else to be proud of, right?_

Dick pulled on the oversized shirt and caught a look of trepidation as it worked its way across Mark’s face.  Dick called the older boy on it, “What was that look for?”

Mark minced his words, “Well, I’m pretty sure you were kidding about the snoring, but honestly, now that I’m well aware that you are probably more than able to do something about it, I’m kind of scared to let you know that I do snore.”

Dick laughed out loud, then sobered.  “Since we’re letting the night-time secrets go, I should warn you that…well…I have nightmares.  I tend to wake up crying…and yelling…sometimes.  I don’t know when they’re going to happen, and I really hope they don’t happen this week, but…you know…fair warning.  Just like you gave me about the snoring.”

_I wonder what he dreams about that causes those kinds of nightmares,_ Mark thought to himself.  _That can’t have been easy for him to admit._   “Thanks for the warning, and just so you know, I won’t hold it against you if you do have a nightmare.  I used to have…oh.”

“’Oh’ what?”

Mark shook his head quickly, “No, I was just wondering what you might have nightmares about, but I answered my own question.”

Dick looked sheepishly at his roommate.  “…You too?”

Mark looked down at his hands and said softly, “It’s been a while, but…yeah.”

Both boys glanced up and caught each other’s eye.  Silent understanding passed between them, which was good, because Dick couldn’t think of anything to say at that moment.  The moment passed, and the boys turned back to the TV.

When the next commercial came on, Dick grabbed his cell phone and stood up.  He was planning on calling Clark from the hallway, but he stopped before leaving the room and said to Mark, “You’re right, I could do something about your snoring, and despite how big and strong as you are, you would be powerless to stop me, mostly because you would be asleep.  I wouldn’t do that, though.  You are one of the very few people at school who even bothers with me, and I’m not looking to lose any friends any time soon.  If there is one subject I struggle with, it’s making friends.  Thanks for taking the time to take a chance on me.”  Dick left the room before Mark could wipe the astonished look off his face.

The call was answered on the third ring, just as Dick settled into a plush chair in the media center on this floor of the hotel.  Clark’s voice came through the speaker cautiously, as he didn’t recognize the number on the caller ID.  “Hello?”

“Hello, Uncle Clark.”

The tone of voice from the Kryptonian warmed considerably as he recognized the youthful voice coming through his phone.  “Hey, Dick.  How are you?  Isn’t it a bit late for you to still be up?  You have a big day tomorrow.”

“After we talk I’m going to call and say goodnight to Bruce, then go to bed.  I just wanted to call and thank you for the head’s up about the meeting at the plane today.”

Dick heard a small sigh, “So Bruce told you after all?  He told me that he wanted it to be a surprise.  I thought it was a surprise, from the look on your face.”

“Oh, it was a surprise, alright.  I wish one of you had told me it was going to be like that.  I thought you liked me, Uncle Clark.”

_Oh, is that the verbal equivalent to the infamous pout?  Geez, what sort of powers does this kid have?  He’s said three sentences to me and I want to fly across town to give him a hug and apologize for something I didn’t even have a hand in setting up._   “Dick, everything was already set up by Luthor before I was even assigned to the story.  I was just told when and where to show up, and what I’m covering.  I didn’t know there was going to be such a big presence at the terminal.”

“Who decided on the picture?”

“What picture, pal?  The story doesn’t go out until the morning edition.  I haven’t even seen the final copy yet.”

A slight tone of frustration entered Dick’s voice.  “You wrote your article, and then included the picture of me and Luthor shaking hands.  Bruce saw it already; it posted to the Daily Planet website a couple hours ago.”

_Figures Bruce would be scouring the website for any mention of the landing.  Lois wrote the article faster than I thought she would.  I bet Bruce blew up the picture on the main screen down in the cave and stared at it for an hour._   “Dick, why don’t you sound happy about that?  I thought you would like seeing yourself in the paper?”

Dick went into a repeat of his same explanation of why it is detrimental to the class efforts for him to have any extra recognition above and beyond a group photo.  Several minutes later, Clark was wincing and kicking himself for having told Lois that it would be okay to use the picture.  He had no idea that Dick would even be aware of the situation he was describing.  He knew that Bruce did his best to shelter Dick from the rumors and suppositions that came with being wealthy and in the public eye.  Obviously, Dick had a better grasp of the situation than Clark was aware.

Clark began slowly, “Dick, you know that I am not the type to pass the buck, but in this case, I have to.  You see, I didn’t write today’s article, Lois did.  I didn’t have any assignment at the airport today.  I was really there to see you, and make sure you made it to Metropolis safely.  I figured Bruce would be calling me every ten minutes after the scheduled landing time of your flight, so I came to the airport to have something to tell him when he called.  What did you think about the article itself?”

Dick hesitated, “…Um, Bruce didn’t read me the actual article.  He just told me about the picture.”

“Well, I haven’t seen it, either.  For all we know, the article may not even mention you.  I will admit to the picture, though.”

Dick grumbled, “I knew it.  I knew you put it there.”

“Dick, wait.  Just listen, okay?  Lois wanted to make the whole article about you.  She recognized your name, just like Luthor did.  She told me that she was going to make the article a focus piece about you, but I talked her out of it.  At least, I hope I did.  I told her that you wouldn’t like that, and she agreed to keep the article about the whole class, but she wouldn’t budge on not using your picture.  I agreed with her; I thought you would like it.  I didn’t even think about what you just told me.”

“Yeah, I guess no one did.  Is it wrong for _me_ to think like that?”

Clark gave a small smile, even though it wasn’t seen, “Do you want an honest answer to that?”

“…Yes, I think I do.”

“Yes, Dick.  It is wrong for you to think like that, and I’ll tell you why.  You do so much to look out for Bruce, and his reputation, that you put yourself on the back burner.  You pay more attention to his public perception than he does.”

Dick looked down, not quite knowing where this line of conversation was leading.  “Bruce is a great man.  He does great things.  He helps so many people.  It’s not right, not fair, that people who don’t even know him will say awful things about him, about us.  I just don’t want anything _I_ do to reflect badly on him.”

Clark felt compassion welling up out of his ears for the boy.  “I know you don’t, but Bruce is a big boy.  Believe me, he appreciates everything you try to do for him, but you need to think about yourself every now and then.  How can I say this…that kind of thinking is dangerous when you’re…um…”

“Yeah, I get it.  You don’t have to say anything else,” Dick said quickly, so Clark didn’t have to mention masks on an unsecured line.

“Good.  And besides that, Bruce is so proud of everything you’ve done.  He wouldn’t care how it made him look, so long as you’re happy.  But, you should know, what you do, it makes him look great.”

“What do you mean?”  Clark could hear the confusion in Dick’s voice.

“Think about it for a minute.  You are an honor student.  You skipped a grade.  You’re taking classes with students years older than yourself, and doing amazing in them.  And, look where you are right now.  You are getting ready to take your rightful part of the grand prize of the National Science Competition.  I don’t see a lot there to make him look bad.”

Dick spoke in a soft voice.  “It makes sense when you say it like that, Uncle Clark.  I’m just so scared of letting him down, though.”  Dick slapped a hand over his mouth as the fear slipped out.  Clark didn’t respond for a moment, giving Dick time to think about his last comment before continuing.  “I _am_ scared.  Bruce has done so much for me.  Sometimes, I don’t know what I did to deserve him.  He’s so good to me.  I’m just afraid I’m going to do something, and Bruce is going to realize that he deserves so much better than me.”

“Hey, pal, don’t talk like that.  You two were made for each other.  There is no better pair than the two of you.  Do you know what he talked about at the meeting last week?”

“Uh, no.  Bruce doesn’t usually talk about his meetings, outside of work.”

Clark was smiling again, “He talked about you.  He was bragging about your accomplishments.  He couldn’t have been more proud if you were his own flesh and blood.  And, he had the same observation you just made, but in reverse.”

Dick was silent for half a minute, thinking.  “What, that I deserve better than _him_?  No.  No, there _is_ no better than him.  How could he even think that?”

“How could _you_?” Clark answered softly.  When there was no answer, Clark said, “You’re not going to disappoint him, and he’s not going to get rid of you.  So, now that that’s established, can you start thinking of yourself every once in a while?  You’re a kid, you’re supposed to be selfish.  Let Bruce spoil you a bit.  Take the credit that you rightly deserve.  Don’t worry so much about making him look bad, especially when there is really nothing you can do about it.  You know, society columnists can get just as many stories about how you are too perfect as they could if you were a troublemaker.  So, just be a kid.”

The left side of Dick’s mouth hitched up in a smirk as he said softly, “Thanks, Uncle Clark.  You’ve really helped me to see some things in a different light.  I…I should go, it’s getting late.”

“Sure, Dick, but I do have a message to pass on first.  Bruce did so much bragging at the meeting, that you had another visitor at the airport.”

“Really?  I didn’t see anyone else I knew.”  Curiosity worked its way back into the boy’s voice.

“She didn’t really want to be spotted.  I have been tasked to tell you hi, and congratulations, and that she thinks you look cute in your school uniform.”

Dick smiled despite himself, “I’m glad you let me know that those are Aunt Diana’s thoughts beforehand.  That last one would have been just a bit weird if it was coming from just you.”

“Yeah, well, it was a weird one to pass on, even if I do agree.  In a manly way, of course.”

Dick’s grin grew a wince as he said, “Okay, Uncle Clark.  This is turning just a bit uncomfortable.”

“Yeah, sorry Dick.  I’ll see you tomorrow, for the interview after the tour, okay?”

“Okay, good night Uncle Clark.”

“Good night, Dick.”

The call ended, and Dick sat thinking about what had been said.  He felt better than he had in about a week, and his natural smile worked its way back onto his face.  He placed a good night call to Bruce, who was still patrolling.  Alfred patched the call through, and caught Batman as he was standing lookout on top of the Gotham Gazette building.  The call was kept short out of necessity, but there were no tears from either party, as Dick thought there might be.  With a massive yawn, Dick returned to his room, bid goodnight to Mark, and was asleep before the older teen turned the light out.

Dick awoke the next morning to find himself trapped.  The oversized shirt had tangled around his arms so much that he was having a hard time just sitting up to try and get loose.  Finally ripping the shirt off to free his arms, Dick sat for several minutes, taking in the room around him. 

It was still dark, but a haze of sunrise was leaking into the room.  Dick quickly put the shirt back on as a shiver ran up his spine in the too cold room.  Pulling the covers back up to his shoulders, Dick smiled as he understood Mark’s warning from the previous night.  The teen was doing a good job snoring, so much so that Dick wondered if it could be heard in the next room.

A huge smile worked its way across Dick’s face as he lay back and stared at the ceiling.  He made it through the first night with not only no nightmares, but no dreams to speak of at all.  He pulled Bruce’s shirt up closer to his face to try and smell the man from the fabric.  He didn’t really get anything special from his inhale, but he still thought it must have helped.

Turning to the nightstand, Dick checked his phone and found a text message from Bruce waiting for him.  _Hey, call when you get this, don’t worry about the time._   Suddenly worried, Dick dialed Bruce’s number and tried not the think the worst.

The call was answered on the second ring.  “Hey, chum.  You’re up early.”

“I got your message, is anything wrong?” The boy was concerned, not realizing that the weary tone in Bruce’s voice was a byproduct of the early hour, and not a home grown calamity.

“No, everything’s okay.  Oh…my message didn’t wake you up, did it?  Really, there’s nothing wrong.  I just wanted to hear how your night went.”

Releasing the breath he had been holding, Dick collapsed back onto his pillow and spoke softly.  “It was actually pretty good.  Mark and I talked for a while, then I called Uncle Clark and spoke to him for a while, right before I called you.  Oh, I paid for everyone’s dinner last night, as an apology for the picture in the paper.  They weren’t mad about it, but it made me feel a bit better.”

Bruce got to the real reason for his call, even though he would never tell Dick that it was the main reason for the call.  “Did you sleep well?  No nightmares?”

“None.  I really think your shirt helped, except it’s really big.  I was all wrapped up in it when I woke up.”

Bruce released his own held breath, then asked, “Why are you talking so quietly, kiddo?  You don’t have a sore throat or anything, do you?”

“No, Mark is still asleep, and it’s too cold, and I’m too comfortable, to take the call in the bathroom.”

“Makes sense.  What time does the tour start?”

Dick had to think for a minute before he came up with the time.  “Um…we’re getting picked up at ten thirty.  Tour is supposed to start at eleven, but I guess it will start whenever we get there.”

Bruce sighed, thinking about his own day.  “Eleven o’clock, huh?  Well, while you’re learning the secrets of Lex’s universe, I’ll be trying to stay awake in a projections meeting.”

Dick quickly stifled his giggle, so as to not wake his roommate.  “Well, eleven o’clock, I’m supposed to be in my History class, so at least one of us gets a reprieve.”

Bruce was silent for a minute, just listening to his boy breath on the other end of the line, before venturing into a possibly thorny topic.  “Hey, Clark called me after I got home last night.  I’m glad he was able to talk to you, and tell you everything he did, because it’s all true.  I want you to remember that.”

The full content of his conversation the previous night played through his head at super speed.  Not wanting to start the day out crying, Dick picked one aspect of the conversation and asked about that.  “Even the part about your last meeting?”

“Yes, even that,” Bruce said with a laugh.

“Well, what I told him was true, too.  I just want to make you proud.”

Bruce sniffed, “You do, kiddo.  Every day.”

The comfortable silence descended again.  Neither wanted to say anything else, lest they risk going too far and making each other cry.  Finally, as Mark snorted on the other side of the room in his sleep, Dick said, “If everything he told me is true, then I guess I don’t really have a choice in what my next actions should be.”

“What’s that, pal?”

“Uncle Clark said I should let you spoil me a bit, and to act more like a kid.  So…maybe I should try that for a while.”

The smile in Bruce’s voice was unmistakable.  “If you’re looking for spoiling, I think I’m your man.  If that’s what you really want, then prepare yourself, because you aint seen nothin’ yet.”

Dick’s eyes grew, wondering which Pandora’s Box he had just opened.  His voice rose just a bit as he said, “I said a little, Bruce.  Just a little.  You know what, I changed my mind, you spoil me enough as it is.”

Bruce sighed grumpily, “Oh, okay.  Hey, listen pal.  I have to get ready for work now.  Thanks for calling in.  Just remember what I told you before you left.  Any time you want or need to call, you just do that.  Don’t worry about what I might be doing, just call.”

“Thanks, Bruce.  Say hi to Alfred for me.  Tell him that whatever they’re serving us for breakfast won’t be nearly as good as what he would make me, and that is a shame, because I’m pretty hungry.  I think I might be growing, for once.  I think I’m eating more lately.”

“He’ll be happy to hear that.  Take care of yourself, and learn lots.  Maybe you can do a little corporate sabotage for me while you’re there.”

“Bruuuce!”

“I’m joking, kiddo, but have fun.  I want to hear all about it tonight, okay?”

As the call was winding down, Dick didn’t want to let his father go, but he knew he had no choice.  “Okay.  I’ll call you just as soon as I can.  Love you, Bruce.”

“Have a good day, kiddo.  Bye.”

“Bye.”  The call ended, and Dick wanted to immediately call Bruce back.  He craved a hug right now more than anything, until his stomach started rumbling.  The noise rivaled Mark’s snores, prompting Dick to get up and start his day.  He still had several hours before the tour, and the only instruction they had been given was to meet in the lobby at ten fifteen.  Giving a small groan at the cold, Dick got up and headed for the bathroom, turning up the heat on his way by.

Several minutes later, Dick was dressed, groomed, and bored.  Not wanting to listen to Mark snoring for the next two and a half hours, Dick left the room and headed for the lobby, looking for something to keep him occupied.  After getting a surprisingly tasty breakfast in the hotel restaurant, one that might have rivaled what Alfred would have made him for breakfast after all, Dick was confronted by a reminder of the day’s activities.  A newsstand in the lobby of the hotel held stacks of copies of the Daily Planet, emblazoned with his picture and the headline ‘Science Contest Winners Land in Metropolis’.  Buying a paper to read the actual article, Dick kept his head ducked as the salesman kept glancing from the front page picture to the school-uniform clad boy in front of him, wondering if it was actually the same person.

Dick found an overstuffed chair near where the class was to meet to be taken to the tour and read the article.  Unlike Bruce’s description, the picture wasn’t just him and Luthor.  He may have been in the foreground, but the rest of the class was, for the most part, easily visible behind the focused pair.  Dick’s nerves eased more as he finished the article and found, as Clark had insisted, that the focus was on the class accomplishment, and not on him.  In fact, Dick was only mentioned once in the article by name, in a list of students who would be attending the tour.  The list was in alphabetical order, so Dick couldn’t complain about the listing.  After reading the article a second time, Dick moved on to a couple other articles before dozing off in the chair.

“Mr. Grayson.”  Mr. Chang woke the sleeping student with that tone that teachers possess that make their students feel guilty for the slightest infraction.

Hearing the voice of his chemistry teacher startled the boy awake, and before he realized what he was saying, Dick blurted out with a start, “I’m sorry, Mr. Chang.  I didn’t mean to fall asleep in class.  It won’t happen again.”

Dick looked around, finally realizing that he was still in the hotel lobby, and not sleeping at his desk in class.  His cheeks flushed as he heard Mark’s laugh coming from behind the teacher.  He looked up sheepishly at the man and gave a wan smile.

Mr. Chang had a smile on his face as he replied, “Yes, I’m sure you won’t, but let’s get the tour over with first before we worry about sleeping in class.”

Dick looked around the lobby, but only saw his teacher and lab partner.  “Is it time to go yet?  Where is everyone?”

“We meet in fifteen minutes, and are scheduled to be picked up in thirty, but I would be surprised if they weren’t early.  No, we are here looking for you.  You see, your roommate was concerned when he awoke and you were gone.”

Dick stood and stretched as he said, “I woke up early and couldn’t get back to sleep.  I would have told you I was coming down here, but the way you were snoring, I figured nothing short of the fire alarm would wake you up.”

Mr. Chang turned on the mountain of student and said, “Wait…that was _you_ snoring last night?  I could hear that all the way from my room.  It’s a wonder you didn’t wake up the whole floor with that racket.  How did you sleep through that, Mr. Grayson?”

Dick gave a short laugh, “I grew up in a traveling circus.  We worked hard every day, and we slept hard every night.  His snoring actually reminded me of home, just a bit.  You were actually worried about me, Mark?”

Dick could have sworn there was a small blush to the teen’s cheeks as he said, “Well…I just wanted to make sure you were okay.  You had a couple moments yesterday that looked…well, like you were in pain.  I was concerned.”

Dick took a step forward and smiled up at the teen.  “Thanks, Mark, but I’m okay, really.  Besides, we’re here.  Where am I going to go?  I don’t know my way around Metropolis.  I wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving the hotel without someone with me.  I’ve been here, in the lobby, all morning.”

“I thought, maybe, you might have called your uncle to meet you, or something,” the teen said, his concern fading.

Mr. Chang looked quizzical, “Uncle, Mr. Grayson?  I thought…”

Dick smirked and interrupted, “Friend of Bruce’s.  He lives in Metropolis.  We’re going to see him this afternoon, anyway, no need to bother him so early.”

“I don’t understand, Mr. Grayson.”

“Sorry, Mr. Chang.  Clark Kent, the Daily Planet reporter who will be interviewing us after the tour, is also a close friend of Bruce’s.”

The teacher nodded, “I see, Mr. Grayson.  Well, Mr. Pierce, I am glad you took the time to look out for your friend here, but as you can see, he is safe.  The rest of the class should be down in a minute or two.  Excuse me while I grab a cup of coffee.”

The teacher walked off towards the same restaurant where Dick had his breakfast an hour earlier while Dick showed Mark the article in the newspaper.  They were eventually joined by the rest of the class as they trickled in in ones and twos.  They all made sure to reinforce to Dick that they weren’t upset about the picture.  Now, having seen the picture in question, Dick finally started to relax about the situation.

At exactly ten twenty-two, the same limousines that picked up the students from the airport arrived at the hotel, and whisked the class across town, to the LexCorp world headquarters. At approximately ten fifty-one, the class was deposited in the lobby of the massive building and met by the bald, smiling owner of the corporation.

Lex Luthor approached from near the elevators, making it look like he had just arrived in the lobby.  Unbeknownst to the rest of the class, but suspected by Dick, Luthor had actually been waiting in the lobby since he sent the limos to pick up the students, almost an hour before.  He held out his arms and gave a toothy grin, like he was greeting an old friend, instead of corporate visitors.

“Good morning, everyone.  So glad you all made it here today.  Welcome to my building.  If you will all please sign in at the reception desk, they will give you your visitor’s badges.  Please keep these badges on and visible at all times.  I would hate for security to stop any of you, since we will be going into some areas of the building that are generally restricted to the general populace.  You will get to see the inner workings of my Research and Development department today, along with a few projects that are not quite ready yet.”  Lex leaned in and lowered his tone, as if imparting a dear secret.  “Also, a few projects that are, most likely, not for the public eye.”  An assistant approached Lex with a clipboard.  He looked at the paper on the board and said, “Get checked in and come meet me by the elevators when you’re ready.”

Lex walked away with the assistant while the class checked in and got their security badges.  Dick was slightly surprised to see that all of the badges had the students name and school picture printed on them.  _I don’t know if these were made up as something special for while we are here, or if his security is this tight all the time.  Either way, Bruce may want to institute something like this, if he hasn’t already.  I wonder how he got our yearbook pictures for the badges._   He shook his head as he realized he was slipping into an investigative mode that he usually reserved for patrols with Batman.  _Bruce was just kidding when he suggested corporate sabotage, Dick.  However, he would probably be happy that I’m on guard when entering what he would call ‘enemy territory’._

After reassembling at the elevators, Luthor led them into one and pressed the button for the fifth floor.  Dick watched as the press lit up the clear plastic button, then glanced up at the top of the button array.  A smile split his face, and he had to bite his lip to keep a giggle from escaping his mouth.

When they stepped off the elevator, Mark nudged his smaller partner and said, “Grayson, what’s with you, huh?”

Still fighting off the giggles, Dick whispered back, “Nothing, just noticed something that I found funny, that’s all.”

“Well, you going to keep me in suspense?  I like a good laugh, too, you know.”

Dick finally let out a small laugh and said, “Okay, but you probably won’t find it as funny as I do.  You see, if the numbers in the elevator are right, and there are no floors not serviced by the elevators, Bruce’s building is four stories taller.  I just…Bruce would get a kick out of that.”

A smile lit the teen’s face.  He thought, _he’s right, it’s not as funny to me, but I can see the humor in it._   “You should tell him that.”

Dick cocked his head and said with a clever tone, “Which him?”

Now Mark laughed aloud and said, “How about both?  But, only so long as I can be there when you tell each of them.  I want to see if the reactions are different.”

Lex led the students into a conference room and had the students take places around the table.  “Now, I know you were promised a tour of R&D, but I thought it might be nice for you to get a little background into the company that will be developing your project.  Don’t worry, you won’t miss anything for this short break.  Actually, if I can be honest, I had hoped to have you all present for a demonstration of a new project that is just about ready for initial field testing, but Dr. Martin said the experiment won’t be ready until a little before noon, and asked if I could stall to give him a little extra time.  So, here we are.

“LexCorp was founded by my grandfather in the early 1900’s.  Before anyone asks, I was named for him, we don’t rename the company for each new CEO.  LexCorp started out making heavy machinery for the farming industry, which is one of the reasons I’m glad that your agricultural project won the competition.  It allows LexCorp to return to our roots, as it were.  Like many companies in the early part of the century, LexCorp was contracted by the government to develop certain items for the war effort.  We were a much smaller company during the First World War, but some of the heavy machinery we made for farmers could be modified for war use.  Our tractors became tow rigs for moving things around military bases.  Also, like many companies at the time, the Great Depression hit us hard.  LexCorp got lucky, though.  We were able to retain our government contracts, and we built the machinery that built many of the great works projects of the 1920’s and 30’s.  When World War Two hit, we started our R&D branch to assist with several top secret military projects.

“Those government contracts are what kept LexCorp alive, and they are still our bread and butter.  Believe it or not, your project will be developed through a government grant, part of the funding for the National Science Competition.  I had a chance to sit down with one of my top researchers, Dr. Grant, you will be meeting him a little later.  He walked me through your proposal and explained the science behind it.  Let me say, I’m very impressed.  I want each of you to do me a favor.  When you get out of college, and are looking for jobs, please consider coming to work in the LexCorp labs.  Put this project on your resumes and come and apply.  If this is the kind of work that you all do for a high school chemistry class, then you all could have bright futures here, or at any of the other high-profile research labs across the country that will want to get their hands on you.”

A buzz ran through the room at the praise from the corporate leader.  Dick, however, had expected something like this when he had first heard about the tour.  _I told Bruce that he was just trying to recruit us.  He’ll laugh when I tell him I was right._

Mark leaned over and said, “Pretty cool, right?  If I wasn’t going into the Army, I would totally jump at that.  You should do it, Grayson.  You’re just about the smartest kid in class, you could get a job here easily.”

Dick leaned back, never taking his eyes off of Luthor, and said, “Nah, I’ve already got a job lined up for after graduation.  Actually, I could probably have it tomorrow, if I asked right.  Still, you’re right, it _is_ cool.”

“Dude, aren’t you, like, twelve or something?  How could you possibly have a…oh, right.  Family business.  Sorry, dumb question.  Just continue ignoring me while I try not to embarrass myself again here.”

Dick laughed and elbowed his lab partner as Luthor made for the door and said, “Well, I think we’ve given Dr. Grant enough time to set up his demonstration.  If we haven’t, then I guess you all will just have to look around the lab until he’s ready.  Follow me.”

Once back in the elevator, Luthor pushed the button for the eighth floor and said, “Right now, R&D is our third largest department, behind banking and technology.  We separate technology and R&D for the simple reason of projects like yours.  It gives us a little more flexibility to be able to take on more diverse projects and contracts, without putting all our eggs in one basket.  This building houses three floors of R&D.  We’ll start on the lowest, and work our way up.”

The doors opened with a low ding, and deposited the group in a lab that looked like something out of a sci-fi movie.  If Dick didn’t know better, he would have thought that it had all been set up just for show.  Dick knew better because the main floor of Wayne Enterprises R&D department looked very similar to this.  _In fact,_ he thought _, change the logos painted on the walls and we could be back in Gotham._

A flustered-looking man wearing thick glasses and a typical white lab coat jogged up to Lex and began speaking in an urgent, hushed tone.  Dick found himself slipping back into investigative mode, as the scientist looked like the problem was something other than the early arrival of his guests.  As the students wandered around the lab, looking at the equipment, Dick made his way closer to their host, looking like he was checking out a table with several liquids bubbling in tubes.  What he overheard almost made him reach for his cell phone, while the Robin part of his brain started to take over.

“…I tell you, Mr. Luthor, we can’t find it.”

“Well, you better find it, and fast.  The last thing we need today is for anything to go wrong.  The press will be here in a few hours.  I want the only story that comes out of this building today to be about the tour.”

“What do you want me to do?  I already have everyone I can spare looking.  Security is on the other floors, aiding in the search.  It was all I could do to keep them out of here while the kids were here.”

“Tell me again, what did the note say, Dr. Grant?”

“Just that his last day would be remembered for a long time.  Look, I know he had to go, but couldn’t we have waited?  At least until the end of the week?”

“He shouldn’t have sold those plans to Star Labs.  That’s corporate espionage, grounds for immediate termination.  He had to go.”  Dick had to stifle a gasp at the term used, as Bruce’s joke about doing the same thing rang in his head.

“I have the search focused up on ten.  That is where he worked.  If he planted any surprises, they’ll be there.  You have to call before you take them up there, if you are still planning on taking the kids up there.  That will give security time to clear out, if you’re looking to keep up appearances.”

“I can play off a small security presence as necessary for the top secret projects, but not if they’re conducting a focused search.  Just do your presentation, Doctor, and see if you can eat up some time.  If we’re lucky, this will all be taken care of before we run out of things to show them on this floor.”

Dick moved away, not wanting to make it obvious that he was eavesdropping.  His eyes flicked around the room, casually looking for anything that could be a threat.  It was a wasted idea; they were in a fully functional laboratory, everything could be a threat.  Dick instead started looking for emergency exits.  For some reason, he was fairly sure that, before the day was out, he would have to pretend to be panicked while helping his classmates exit the building safely.  _I really wish I could call Uncle Clark and give him a heads-up.  Maybe I can text him if we take a break after the demonstration._

Luthor pasted a smile back on his face and waved the class over.  “Everyone, this is Dr. Dale Grant, lead researcher for our applied physics department.  Dr. Grant, I give you Mr. Chang’s Advanced Chemistry class.  Treat them well.”

Lex walked to the back of the room as Dr. Grant stood in front of the students.  With a hint of nerves in the scientist’s voice, he began speaking.  “Hello, everyone, and congratulations on your winning project.  I look forward to seeing it come to life here in our labs.  Now, I won’t be a part of the build team for your project, but I would like to show you something that may just get your minds working on coming over to physics from chemistry.  Today will be the second test of one of our pet projects, the Sonic Transducer.”

One of the girls from the class started laughing, causing the scientist’s cheeks to flush in mild embarrassment.  “I…Is there a problem, miss?”

Laura, a senior who was the second in command of the entire class project, and the one who had suggested Dick as the person to head the calculations group, dropped the hand she had used to cover her laugh and said, “I’ve seen The Rocky Horror Picture Show.  Don’t tell me that you’re going to send us to another planet.”

Another student, Carlos, who apparently had also seen the movie, piped in, “Planet, shmanet, Laura.”

Laura laughed again as the scientist smirked and said, “Just because the idea for the name came from a movie, doesn’t mean that there couldn’t be some sound science and practical application behind it.  In this case, there wasn’t, but the name fit for the project.  If any of you are science fiction fans, then this project will sound familiar to you.  It is something more out of Star Trek than a campy movie musical.  What we hope to be able to do, in a simplified nutshell, is use sound waves to move an object in a controlled fashion.  Gather around, everyone, and I will show you the device.”

The group met around an island off towards the back corner of the room as their guide picked up a small, rectangular box.  “This is the transducer.  We’ve started small, as this is really just a proof of concept test, so far.”  He picked a screwdriver up off the table and started to remove the back plate.  Holding up the unit, he showed the class the opening, revealing a series of tubes.  “These are sound tubes, the heart of the device.  There is a small sound wave generating device right here in the center of the transducer, which is attached to these tubes.  The tubes are made of a special polymer, designed to amplify and strengthen the waves.  If you look closely,” he said as he passed the device around for everyone to see, “you will see that there are actually three sets of tubes.  That is so we can adjust the amplitude and modulation of the waves, and, hopefully, allows us to control the movement of whatever item we use the Sonic Transducer to move.”

He got the box back after it had been passed around the group and reattached the back plate.  “If you will look at the underside of the unit, you will see something that should be familiar to all of you.”  He turned the box over to reveal what looked to be a standard radio speaker.  “That’s right, we took this straight out of the office stereo, which is really too bad, because I usually like a little music while I work.  We are in the process of creating a more powerful speaker unit for a larger scale test, but this one should work for this application.  Now, the effect of the amplified sound waves should be able to lift the unit using displaced force.  I guess the easiest way to describe it would be like going to a rock concert and standing right in front of the speakers.  We are harnessing those vibrations, and using them for a practical purpose.  The amplification tubes should ensure that the effect is possible, without the eardrum shattering volume used at concerts.  Any questions so far?”

A hand shot up in the middle of the group.  “What is the power source?”

A smile grew on Dr. Grant’s face.  “Eventually we will be transforming it to use rechargeable lithium ion power cells, but that will be saved for retail units.”  He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small cylinder.  “Right now, it’s powered by a standard double-A battery.  The sound generating device is low-voltage, and the amplification tubes are what do the real work of the unit.  Anything else?”

Another student called out, “Isn’t ‘sound generating device’ just another way of saying ‘piezo buzzer’?”

“Yes, but this way we can make it sound more ‘science-y’ and less ‘Radio Shack’.  Corporations and governments aren’t going to want to invest in a technology that they think could be made in anyone’s garage after a trip to an electronics store.  Besides, the amplification tubes are what do the real work of this device.”

Mark waved at the doctor, “What is the weight limit for a device of this size?”

The doctor thought for a second, looking like he was trying to craft an answer that wouldn’t give away trade secrets.  “Right now, we are still very early in development.  Like I said, this is only the second test of the unit.  I guess I can tell you, the first test was a complete failure.  We had some bad wiring in the unit, and as soon as we powered it on the first time, it set itself on fire.  This unit is actually Sonic Transducer, version two.  Version one is now a paperweight on one of my colleagues desks.  If it powers on without frying itself, we will consider the test a success.  If it can lift itself off the table, it will be very encouraging.  The unit weighs just under a pound, so we are looking for it to lift about a pound.”

Mark asked again, “What is the estimated weight limit for a production model?”

“Initial computer modeling showed a predicted weight limit of about fifty times the unit size.  Using our test model, a one pound unit should, in theory, be able to lift fifty pounds.”

Several furtive glances were sent Dick’s way.  He caught them all and knew what everyone was thinking.  It wasn’t the nicest thing for his classmates to be thinking, but he couldn’t blame them for making a bit of a joke at his expense.

Mark reached over and patted Dick on the shoulder and said, “Let’s give it a real test, then.  Jump on, Grayson.  Write your name in the history books as the first item lifted by this device.”

Dick glared up at Mark as several classmates gave stifled, involuntary laughs.  The mood eased as Dick began to laugh at the suggestion, and the rest of the group felt it was okay to laugh with him.  Dick joked back and said, “Sure.  Then, after it lifts me, we can use it to bring you your lunch.  That’s just about fifty pounds, right?”

The laughs were more immediate at the second comment.  Dr. Grant took over the group again and said, “Okay.  Well, who is ready to see if this thing works?  Could everyone please put on the supplied goggles?  Thank you.  Let’s make some science.”

Dr. Grant put the battery in the unit and tweaked a couple final details before putting the device in the center of the lab table.  As soon as he set the Transducer on the table, a low hum emanated from the machine.  It grew louder, but not painfully so. 

Soon, the whole table began to vibrate.  Several students took an involuntary step back, and Mr. Chang asked, “Is it supposed to do that?”

Dr. Grant looked concerned, but his eyes weren’t on the table.  “That wasn’t the Transducer.”

A jolt shook the room, and muffled booms could be heard from above their heads.  Mr. Peters, the parent chaperone, asked, “Are there any other experiments going on in any of the other labs?”

The doctor’s eyes grew as the vibration intensified, “Yes, but unless something has gone terribly wrong, none of them should sound like _that._   Mr. Luthor, what do you think we should do?”

Lex had been standing at the back of the group, watching the presentation.  “Everyone, I think we should take this time to…”

Luthor stopped talking as the strongest jolt yet shook the building, knocking several students to the floor.  The booms grew louder as various alarms began to sound around the lab.  Dick took an involuntary step closer to Mark, ready to try to shove the behemoth out of the nearest exit as soon as the word to evacuate was given.  He realized it was too late to act a second after it was too late.  The lights went out in the lab, and the last thing Dick remembered was being knocked to the floor, with a large weight pressing down on top of him, before deafening sound and searing heat descended on the lab.  Blackness surrounded him, and he knew no more.

_Meanwhile, in Gotham City…_

Bruce sat at the massive desk in his office and read the report that was handed to him at the end of his projections meeting.  The next quarter looked good for the company, and there was a chance of stealing a couple contracts for Wayne Tech that might otherwise have gone to LexCorp.  Bruce was trying not to target Luthor’s company too viciously as a response to Dick’s class project, but he didn’t feel bad for any contract he might pry from the Metropolis-based Corporation.

While he _was_ reading the report, he was spending far more time looking at Dick’s drawing, still on his desk blotter.  He traced a line with his finger, thinking how much he missed the kiddo, even after only one day.  The phone call that morning had not been enough for him.  He wanted a hug, but his arms couldn’t stretch the several hundred miles between them.

He sighed, pulling out his phone for the sixth time to send a text to his son, then stopping himself for the sixth time, knowing that Dick would eagerly miss parts of his tour to reply to the text, or to call him back.  Dick had sounded in a good mood this morning; Bruce didn’t want to destroy that with his own sadness.

Putting the phone back on his desk, Bruce was surprised by the unannounced entrance of Jean, his secretary, into his office.  The woman ran everything by the book, and for her to just barge in like this could only mean bad news.

“Jean, what’s wrong?  What’s going on?”

Ignoring her boss, she ran over to the television built into the wall and turned it on.  Flipping through several channels, she settled on a breaking news broadcast before turning to Bruce.  She opened her mouth, but no words came out.  Instead, she gestured violently at the screen.

Bruce came closer to examine the image of a high-rise building, with flames shooting out of several floors in the middle of the building.  Bruce immediately looked out of his office windows, but saw nothing but a clear, if somewhat crisp, sky.

“That’s not us, right?”

Jean, still unable to talk, pointed at the bottom of the screen, where the headline read ‘ _LexCorp Building Disaster.’_   Bruce’s jaw dropped and he was struck into speechlessness himself as he read the crawl at the bottom of the image.  _Several floors engulfed in flames.  Fire crews having trouble fighting fires.  Building evacuation progressing.  Many injuries reported.  Fourteen confirmed dead._

The last line played over and over behind Bruce’s eyes.  _Fourteen confirmed dead.  There were fourteen people from Dick’s school going on the tour.  Oh, god, Dickie!_

Bruce ran to his desk and snatched up his cell phone.  Rapidly selecting Dick’s speed dial, he jammed the phone to his ear.  Tears, and an involuntary ‘Oh God’, escaped the man as an automated phone company message told him that the subscriber he was trying to reach was not available at this time, and to please try his call later.  Bruce tried again immediately and got the same message.

He sank slowly into his chair as his stomach collapsed in on itself.  _I can’t lose him, I can’t.  He means too much to me.  The world is a terrible place, but it can’t be this cruel.  I can’t accept that.  Oh, my little kiddo.  You can’t be dead.  You just can’t be._

“Jean…Jean,” Bruce had to say it twice, because it came out as little more than a breath the first time.  The woman looked in his direction with tears leaking down her cheeks.  “Get me on a plane to Metropolis.  I don’t care which one, just get me a direct flight.  Soonest possible flight.  I want to…I have to be there today, this afternoon.  No baggage, I’m going straight from here.”

The woman nodded and left the office to make the arrangements as Bruce picked up his phone again and called Alfred.  The Butler answered on the second ring, but Bruce cut him off before he could offer any pleasantry.

“Alfred, pack a bag.  One for me and one for yourself.”

“Are we going somewhere, sir?”  Alfred picked up on the frantic tone in his employer’s voice, and didn’t comment on the rudeness welling out of the earpiece.

“Metropolis.  We need to go find our boy.”

Alfred gasped at the turn in the conversation.  “Whatever do you mean, Master Bruce?”

“Turn on the T.V., Alfred, channel eight.”  He waited a second for the older man to comply.  He knew it was done when he heard the butler gasp again and swear in a very un-gentlemanly way.

“Jean is getting me on the next flight out.  I want you to drive to Metropolis and meet me there.  Dick may not be in a condition to fly home when we get there, so we need a car.”

Trying to cheer up Bruce as much as himself, Alfred said, “And he may be just fine, and will feel like you don’t trust him if you just show up.  Have you tried calling his phone?”

Bruce sniffed mightily before saying, “Yes.  I just get a message saying his number is not available at this time.  I know his phone works there, I talked to him this morning.”  He broke off as Jean hustled into the room with a computer printout of his itinerary.  Bruce grabbed it and said into the phone, “Okay, Jean got me on a one o’clock American flight out of Gotham International.  I’m on my way now.  Dick’s class was staying at the Metropolis Hilton, she got me a room there.  Meet me at the hotel.  I’ll call if I’m going to be anywhere else.”

Alfred let his fear show in his next comment.  “Is there any hope that he is unharmed, sir?”

Bruce’s voice shook as he said, “The news reported fourteen confirmed dead.  There were fourteen in Dick’s tour group.  I want to believe that he is indestructible, but the world just isn’t that kind to me.  For all we know, he’s fine, but I need to know.  I need to see him, and hold him.  Nothing short of that is going to take this feeling away from me.  I know you feel the same, old friend.”

“I do, sir.”

“I have to go if I’m going to make my flight.  I’ll see you when you get to the hotel.”

Bruce hung up without waiting for a reply from the butler.  As he rushed out of his office, he stopped at Jean’s desk, looking flustered.  “Jean…thank you.  Cancel everything for the rest of the week.  I…I’ll call…when I know something.”

The woman stood and walked around her desk.  She gripped the man tightly in a hug and whispered, “Go.  Bring our boy home.  There’s a cab waiting for you at the front door.  I’ll take care of everything here.”

Bruce rushed out of the door with another called ‘thank you’.  Later, if you asked him, Bruce wouldn’t be able to tell you how he got to the airport, or on to the plane, but he did.  There, stuck for the next hour and a half with nothing to do but think, he attempted to control his mind.  Relaxation exercises did nothing for him, meditation was unachievable, and sleep was out of the question.

Pulling his phone from his pocket again, he resisted the urge to dial Dick again.  Instead, he called Clark’s number.  The call went to voicemail after the second ring, somewhat satisfying the brooding man.  _Good, if Clark isn’t answering his phone, that means he must know what’s happening.  He may already be on scene.  The news didn’t say anything about Superman at the building, but, then again, I didn’t see anything after the casualty figure.  He better not be on some assignment as Reporter Clark that’s keeping him from the one thing I asked him to do.  All I said was keep his city safe for one week, and now there’s burning buildings on the news.  He’s lucky I didn’t decide to stop home first, or my carry-on would be full of Kryptonite.  I asked him for one thing,_ one thing _, and he couldn’t even do that.  Boy, I’m going to have some words for him.  Maybe I should call in other members of the Justice League?  We may have just lost a future member; that needs…NO!  Don’t think like that!  I can’t give up on him.  He wouldn’t give up on me._

The interminable flight ended, and Bruce ran to the first cab he could find.  After checking in at the hotel, he charmed the number for Dick’s room out of the desk clerk and went to see if, for some miraculous reason, he was there.  The room was locked, dark, and empty, so he had no choice but to go to his own room.  He turned on the news and paid attention to the coverage.  After half an hour, his ever-wearing patience was rewarded, as the reporter informed the viewing audience that the injured were being taken to St. Ignatius Hospital, three blocks from the LexCorp building.

Bruce ran from his room, ignoring the elevators as he took the stairs, leaping half a flight with each step.  The cab ride to the hospital seemed to take hours, as the start of the rush hour kicked in.  Bruce had the presence of mind to send a text to Alfred, who no doubt was far closer to Metropolis than the highway’s speed limits should have allowed, informing him of the hospital name.  He was out of the taxi and into the hospital before the car stopped moving, throwing a hundred dollar bill at the driver and not waiting for his change.

He was breathless as he approached the front desk.  He wasn’t the only one asking about the LexCorp injured; the fact that he was not alone was morbidly comforting to the concerned father.  The understanding attendant at the front desk gave Bruce all he needed to know for his legs to try to collapse under him and fresh tears to spring from his eyes; Dick was assigned to room 418.  His adrenaline kicking back in, Bruce was given directions to the room.  He ran off again, this time taking the elevator.

Running into the nurse’s station on the fourth floor, he gasped out Dick’s room number, and followed the pointed direction of the nurse, who was on the phone at the time, to the indicated room.  Jogging into the room, a smile broke out on Bruce’s face as he called out, “Dick!”

A nearly empty room met his call.  His mood deflated as there was no answer to his query.  He was about to go back to the nurse’s station, to see if they gave him the right room, when a man’s voice came from the corner of the two-bed room.

“Excuse me, what are you doing in my son’s room?”

Bruce stared at the uniformed man for a second before his mind started working again.  “You must be Colonel Pierce, Mark’s dad.  I’m Bruce Wayne, Dick’s dad.  Where are they?”

The gray-haired soldier shook Bruce’s extended hand, “Mr. Wayne.  I’m sorry, I didn’t know to expect you, at least, not so soon.  They’re in surgery, at least, that’s what the doctor told me when I got here.  How did you get here so fast?”

Bruce snorted as he sat in the chair next to Dick’s empty bed.  Colonel Pierce resumed his chair next to Mark’s empty bed.  “Saw it on the news.  Hopped the first plane I could get a ticket on.  How did you get here so fast?”

The soldier looked incredulous.  “I run an Army post.  Military transport.  Called in a favor from a friend in the Air Force.  He got me an F-18 and a pilot for what he put in the log as a training run.  Got me from the base to here in twenty minutes.  I should have taken something slower, the waiting is excruciating.”

Silence reigned for several minutes before Bruce spoke again, quietly, not looking at the military man on the other side of the room.  “Colonel, I…I want to thank you.”

Colonel Pierce was startled at what he heard come from the man across from him.  “Thank me?  For what?”

Bruce glanced up, eying the man.  “For raising your son right.”

Colonel Pierce just stared at the man, wondering where he was going with this.  “Have you met Mark?  What has he done for you to say that?”

Bruce raised his head and met the man’s eyes.  “I haven’t formally met him.  I only saw him for the first time when I dropped Dick off at the airport.  Dick hasn’t had an easy time since I took him in.  If nothing else happened, he has to deal with me, which isn’t always easy.  He had been homeschooled until he came to Gotham, and he had never had a chance to interact with kids his own age.  Well, you know how kids can be.  Dick has reached out to kids at school, trying to be friends.  Mark is the first kid at school who has reached back.  It’s done Dick a world of good to have someone he can talk to at school.  He doesn’t have to lie to me anymore when I ask him how his day went.  Going from being the smallest kid in school, to being the youngest and smallest in the high school, has not been easy for him.  Having Mark to talk to, to bond with, is the best thing that could have happened to him.”

Colonel Pierce was stunned.  He had heard a lot about Dick from his son, but he had no idea the effect they had had on each other.  “Thank you, Mr. Wayne.  I’m glad Mark has been able to do some good.  You know, your boy has had an effect on Mark, as well.  No one expects the star football player to have a brain.  He’s told me about the other guys on the team giving him a hard time for taking honors classes, and spending more time with his studies than with the cheerleaders.  You’ve also seen how big he is.  He scares the other kids in those honors classes, because they all expect the big guys to bully them for being smart.  Dick…he just accepts Mark.  I guess they see beyond age and size, and just look for who they are.”

Bruce smiled.  “Dick accepts everybody; it’s his special gift.  His parents were wholesome, genuine people, and he looks for that in others.  I guess he found that in Mark.”

The military man turned to face the billionaire fully and said, “You’re not what the media makes you out to be, Bruce Wayne.”

“You mean I’m not the filthy rich airhead douchebag with a strange knack for business that all the society pages say I am?” Bruce gave a mock innocent look as the Colonel laughed at the obvious joke.  “Damn, I need to work harder on keeping up appearances.”

“Then why make such an unflattering public image of yourself?”

Bruce sighed, “Because it keeps people away.  I’m not a people person, Colonel.  I don’t like being bothered unnecessarily.  Dick has had to go through a lot in his life, and even more since coming to live with me.  If people aren’t knocking down my door, because they think I’m a jerk and want to stay away as much as possible, then it gives my family some peace and quiet.  We like it that way.  I want to give Dick the best home I can, so if acting like an idiot for the society pages allows me to do that, then I will.”

The older man nodded sagely.  “I can respect that, and I can respect what you are trying to do for your family.  Don’t you think you owe it to Dick to have you seen in a positive light around town, though?”

“Dick already knows the truth.  Yeah, I hate when he comes home and tells me about someone saying something about me at school, because it hurts him more than it does me.  But, he knows who I am, who I really am, and he knows why I do what I do.  You’ve just figured out my biggest secret, Colonel.  I’d appreciate it if you kept it to yourself.”

The Colonel and the businessman stood up and shook hands as an orderly wheeled Mark into the room in a wheelchair.  The massive teen stood shakily, and was embraced by his father before he could fall over.  Bruce wondered if he should leave until Dick was brought in.

Mark was saying, “It’s just some stitches, dad.  Some bumps and bruises.  I’ll be okay in a couple weeks.”

The youth was helped into the bed by his father and the orderly, who checked to make sure he was comfortable before leaving.  Bruce wanted to follow the orderly to see where Dick was and how soon he would be back when Colonel Pierce asked what happened.  Bruce instead turned around and listened to the teen.

“We were on the tour.  We were watching an experiment when the table started shaking.  I thought it was just the experiment, until I started hearing some loud noises, and the whole room was shaking.  I got hit with one of those acoustic ceiling tiles just as the lights went out.  I grabbed Dick.  I was going to try to shove him under the table, you know.  He’s small, dad, like really small.  I thought he would be crushed if more of those ceiling tiles came down, or something else fell on us.  I guess something did fall on us, because I fell.  I must have blacked out after that, because the next thing I remember is waking up here.  I haven’t seen Dick, I hope I didn’t fall on him, or crush him, or something.”

Mark was staring at Bruce, a half-wary gaze as he tried to place the man in his memory.  _He’s familiar, but I can’t tell where I’ve seen him before._

Bruce caught the look and approached the bed, holding out a hand.  “Hi, Mark, I’m Bruce Wayne.  Dick’s told me a lot about you.  Thank you for looking out for him.”

Realization dawned on the teen.  _Oh yeah, at the airport, that’s where I saw him._   He reached out and took the hand, “Hi, Mr. Wayne.  He’d do the same for me, I think.  How is Dick?”

Bruce looked pained, “I don’t know.  He’s assigned to this room, that’s why I’m here.  The nurse said he was in surgery.  I haven’t had any report on him yet.”

“Oh…okay.  I hope he’s…Dad, look!  It’s Superman!”

Bruce’s head whipped around to find the superhero standing at the nurse’s station, talking to the charge nurse.  Bruce’s eye’s narrowed as the Kryptonian looked in his direction, and it took all his training not to run out and attack the man.

“Gosh, it sure would be cool to meet him,” Mark said to his father.

Bruce saw his opportunity and pounced.  “You want to meet him, Mark?  Let me see what I can do about that.  Least I can do for you trying to help Dick.”

Bruce stalked up to the Man of Steel, who held up his hands in a placating gesture.  “What the hell are you doing here, Superman?  Don’t you have some bad guys to kill?” Bruce hissed violently at the man before him.

Looking for a more private place for their conversation and finding none readily available, Clark took a step away from the nurse’s station and spoke in a quiet tone.  “Relax, will you.  I just came to check in.  I already called for some help in looking into this.  I’ll get back out there soon.  I just wanted an update on the injured.”

“Relax?  Dick is in surgery, and you tell me to relax?  I can’t get any information about his condition, and you tell me to relax?”  Bruce’s voice had been steadily rising until Superman grabbed his arm.

“Now is not the time for this, _Mr. Wayne_.”  Superman emphasized Bruce’s civilian name, to remind the man that he was out of costume.  “J’onn and Diana are on their way.  Gotham’s protector is not needed in Metropolis while Bruce Wayne’s son is in the hospital.  If I need a detective, I will call you, but until then, care for your son.”

Bruce took a couple deep breaths to try to calm himself.  “That is one thing you don’t have to tell me to do.  He’s still in surgery, I don’t have an update about that.  Come on, put on a baby-kissing smile and come meet Dick’s friend.  He can tell you a bit about what happened just before the shit hit the fan.  He was just telling us before he spotted you and went all fanboy.”

Superman looked over at the room where Bruce had emerged and saw Mark staring in their direction with stars in his eyes.  “Always enjoy meeting another fan, especially when they’re from your neck of the woods.  Look, before we go in there, we need to make a time to talk later.  I got to LexCorp within minutes of…whatever happened.  I can tell you a little about what I saw and how I found Dick then.  He’s alive, and relatively unharmed, from what I saw.  Just remember that.  I’ll find a time to come back later, hopefully when everyone’s asleep.  How do you want to play this?”

Bruce was leading the way back to the room, aggravated that Clark knew more about what was going on than he did.  “Just follow my lead, and don’t screw this up.  Mark is very important to Dick.”  Before Superman could ask who Mark was, they were in the room, and Bruce was making introductions.  “As promised, Mark.  Superman.  Superman, this is Mark Pierce, and his father, Colonel…I’m sorry, I didn’t get your first name, sir.”

The Colonel stood up and offered a hand to Superman.  “Colonel William Pierce, Superman.  My son is a big fan.”

Mark looked awed, seeing his two heroes in life shaking hands like it was an everyday occurrence.  He couldn’t say anything as the alien shook his outstretched hand as well, and gave him a bright smile.  “Mr. Wayne here tells me you wanted to meet me, Mark.  I couldn’t say no to a request like that.”

“Th-th-thank you, Superman.  I-I’ve wanted to mm-meet you my whole life.  This is so cool, I wish Dick were here to see this.  We were talking about you on the plane.  Mr. Wayne, have you met Superman before today?”

“We’ve met,” Bruce tried not to grumble in front of Dick’s friend.

“You were talking about _me_ on the plane?” Superman inquired.

“Yeah.  Dick and I were.  Do you know Dick, too?”

“We’ve met,” Superman answered, mirroring Bruce’s words, but with a much kinder tone.

“Wow, he didn’t tell me _that_.  He was trying to convince me that Batman is better than you, Superman.  Don’t worry, I’m not convinced, no matter how strong his argument was.”

It was all Superman could do to suppress a laugh at the turn of events, while Bruce tried not to give a blush that had the power to give away his alter ego.  _Dick was defending me, out of costume, without giving away either of our identities.  I wonder what kind of argument he put together?_   A strange pride swelled the man, hearing about his son’s conversation.

“Well, Mark.  It was nice to meet you.  I have to go now.  Someone has to figure out what happened at LexCorp today.  You just focus on healing, okay?”

Mark nodded vigorously, “Sure, Superman.  It was great to meet you.  Wow, Dick’s never going to believe that he missed you.”

Superman gave a wicked grin and said, “Well, you said Dick is a fan of Batman.  I happen to work with Batman every so often on cases.  Maybe I can talk him into making a special visit to see Dick?”

“He’d really like that.  Could you do that?”

“What do you think, Mr. Wayne?” Superman turned his back to Mark and stared at Bruce.

Bruce glared at the Kryptonian and ground out, “I think something can be arranged along those lines.”

Superman walked towards the door when Mark called out to him again.  “One last thing, Superman.  Do you think, when you leave, that you could fly past the window?  That would be so cool.”

The super hero winked at the teen.  “If you think it would be cool, then I guess I can do that.”

The superhero disappeared, only to be seen floating on the opposite side of the window, waving, a minute later.  Mark spoke excitedly to his dad as Bruce walked to the nurse’s station to get some kind of update on Dick.

He didn’t have to wait long, because as he opened his mouth to address the charge nurse, a gurney was wheeled past, carrying Dick to his shared room.  Bruce rushed back to the room and waited for the boy to be settled in the bed.  He hesitated in rushing to grab his child when he saw fully the boy’s condition.  His left arm was encased in a full arm cast, while a bandage was wrapped around Dick’s forehead.  Dick appeared to be unconscious.

Bruce grabbed the attending doctor and demanded an explanation.  “Mr. Wayne, Richard is going to be just fine.”

“Fine?  He’s unconscious, and his head is wrapped.  How is that fine?”

The doctor gave a patient smile.  “He’s not unconscious, he’s sedated.  He had a pretty bad break about two inches below his elbow.  We had to operate to put in a plate and a couple screws to hold everything together.  It won’t impact flexibility or usefulness once everything has healed.  It will actually be stronger than his other arm, once he’s all healed up.  As for his head, he had a small gash, just above his hairline, and a bump above his left temple.  He does have a slight concussion, but he will be back to normal in a week or so.  As for the gash, it won’t even leave a scar.”

Bruce sagged into the door frame at the news.  _He’s going to be okay.  My boy is alive.  If I believed in God, I would be down on my knees, thanking him now._   “Doctor, the news reported fourteen dead.  Were any of them from the tour group?”

“I don’t know what tour group you’re talking about, sir.  From the report I have, everyone from the floor your son was pulled from are all here in this wing.  Mostly bumps and bruises.  I think the worst injuries are a few broken bones and concussions.”

Dick moaned behind Bruce, and the man said, “Thanks, doctor,” before turning back to attend to his son.  Attention focused on the boy in the bed, Bruce couldn’t help overhearing Colonel Pierce whisper to his son, “You weren’t kidding when you said he was small, son.”

Bruce gently held Dick’s uninjured hand, feeling the life running through his veins.  The contact was enough to gently rouse the injured child.  He blearily looked at his father and said, “Bruce?  What are you doing here?”

“You’re here, pal.  Where else would I be at a time like this?”

Dick gave a small smile before saying, “I’m sorry, Bruce.”

Bruce looked concerned as he said, “Sorry for what, kiddo?”

“I didn’t do what you said.  You told me to have a good time today.  I’m not having a good time, dad.”

Bruce had to laugh at the remark.  _How can he joke at a time like this?_   “It’s okay, pal.  Just rest, okay?  I’ll be right here when you wake up.”

Dick was fading fast, a result of the lingering sedation coursing through his system.  “Okay, because I don’t think I…wait, where’s Mark?  What happened to him?”

“Relax, pal.  He’s about six feet to your left.  He’s going to be okay.  It looks like you got the worst of it.”  Bruce gently turned Dick’s head to face the second bed in the room so Dick could see the teen and the officer watching him.

Dick called softly, “Hey, Mark.  You really okay over there?”

“Yeah, Grayson, I’m doing a bit better than you right now.”

“Sure, rub it in.”

Mark sighed, “Go to sleep, Grayson, before you pass out.”

Dick tried to lift his arm, to point at his roommate, and failed, “I’m not going to…oh, never mind.  Sleep sounds good right now.”  He turned his attention back to Bruce, “I’m sorry, Bruce.  You came all this way and…”

Bruce gave a patient smile, “Sleep, Dick.  I’ll be here when you wake up.  Alfred should be here by then, too.”

“Okay…I’ll just…”  Dick’s voice trailed off as he fell asleep in mid thought.  Bruce kept hold of the small hand and stared at the peaceful, sleeping face, until Alfred came rushing into the room, two hours later.

“Sir?”

Bruce whispered, “He’ll be okay, Alfred.  He’s sleeping.  Pull up a chair and wait with me, okay?”

The butler didn’t answer, he just grabbed a chair and positioned himself next to his employer, watching his damaged charge sleep.

_Several hours later…_

Close to midnight, Dick awoke with a start.  Alfred had fallen asleep, at Bruce’s urging, but the billionaire forced himself to stay awake.  He hadn’t let go of the precious hand, and felt the fingers tighten their grip around his own seconds before the boy woke.

“Bruce?” Dick’s gaze swept his casted arm and a pout grew on his face, “It wasn’t a dream, was it?”

“If you’re talking about the tour, then no.  If you’re talking about whatever you just dreamed about, then yes.  What happened today, chum?”

Dick opened his mouth to answer when he spied a certain mild mannered reporter lingering just outside of the room.  “My memories aren’t going to make the papers, are they?”

Bruce looked confused at the response before whipping around and spotting Clark.  The reporter sheepishly entered the room as Bruce’s glare pierced the darkened space.  “No, Dick.  I’m not here as a reporter, but I’m going to make a short report to Bruce.”  He glanced over at the room’s other occupants, “Is it safe to talk here?”

“No,” Bruce grumbled, “They’ve been asleep for a while, but…just be careful of what you say, and be quick.  I don’t think you can be seen here.”

“That’s why I came at midnight.  I figured you’d still be awake.”

Bruce placed a gentle hand on Alfred’s shoulder, waking the butler before saying, “Go ahead, Clark.”

He shot a smile at Alfred before starting, “I was on my way to the LexCorp building for the class interview when I saw the explosion.  I was down the street getting a cup of coffee when flames started shooting out of the building.  According to the news, you could hear the boom for miles.  I got changed and flew there as fast as I could.  The first floor I came to was completely gutted, and the floor had collapsed onto the one below.  The next floor down was a little better, but was still bad.  I started pulling people out of the rubble as quickly as I could.  I got everyone out of the lab that I could find before moving to the next level down.  Part of the floor had collapsed, and I could see more people on the next floor down.  I pulled everyone out that I could.  There were no fires on this third floor, but lots of debris piled everywhere.  I remembered seeing Mark there, in the rubble.  I figured Dick couldn’t be too far away, but I had to get others out first.”

Bruce saw red, and if it were possible, smoke would have been blowing out of his ears.  “You had to do _what?_ ” the man asked dangerously.

“There were six other students lying unconscious under a section of ceiling that was giving way over them.  I couldn’t leave them to get crushed, Bruce.  I grabbed them and got them out.  When I came back, I saw Dick crawling out from under Mark.  He looked a bit dazed, but told me to continue getting the others out.  I took another group out, and when I returned again, Dick was dragging that…huge boy…towards one of the exits.”

Bruce grew a smile despite himself, “Let me get this straight.  Dick…this little guy…was dragging Mark…the defensive line.  Was he actually able to move him?  Wait, was he injured then?”

“No, like I said, he was a little dazed, but I didn’t see anything like…this,” Clark gestured to the fully casted arm.

Dick looked flabbergasted at what was being told to him.  _I’ve heard of people developing great strength in times of need, but I don’t believe it.  Mark’s huge.  Sure, Robin could handle him easily, but that’s a bit different than throwing him over my shoulder and carrying him out of the building._   “So, I pulled Mark out of the building?”

Clark smiled over at the boy in the hospital bed.  “Um…not exactly.  You were dragging him towards one of the exits when I got back into the lab.  As I came back into the building, you stopped.  I guess you were resting or something.  You stood up and wiped your forehead, and that’s…”

“That’s what, Clark?” Bruce asked with growing apprehension.

“That’s when part of the ceiling collapsed.  You were hit by a beam that came swinging out of the ceiling as the floor above collapsed.  I couldn’t get there in time to protect you, Dick.  I’m sorry.  You actually got knocked about ten feet back.  But, it could have been much worse.  The section that collapsed a second later landed on the spot where Mark was laying on top of you when I first got to your floor.  If you hadn’t tried to get your friend out, both of you would have been crushed under an I-beam.”

The three Wayne Manor residents sat with matching looks of disbelief.  Dick broke the silence first as he whispered, “I…I don’t remember any of it.  The last thing I remember is Dr. Grant starting the experiment, then waking up after surgery.”

Clark continued, “I pulled you and Mark out, then made two more trips to get the rest of your class.  After I was sure everyone was out, I called Mount…I called in some friends to help out.  They’re still there, investigating.  I just came to give you the update I promised, Bruce.  I…I should go back, so you can rest.”

Bruce nodded as the Kryptonian got up to leave.  “Good.  Um…Clark?  Thank you.  I think you know what I’m going to say next, right?”

Clark gave a wry smile, “Yeah, yeah.  No one hears about this, upon pain of glowing, green rocks.”

Bruce stood and walked to the door of the room with his visitor.  “That’s right, but thank you.  Say, you don’t know where Luthor ended up, do you?”

Clark looked shocked, “You didn’t check?” Upon seeing the shaken head, he said, “He’s in room 402.  Just bumps and bruises, mostly, but he does have a pretty good concussion.”

Bruce nodded again as Clark turned back to the room.  “Get better, Dick.  Just rest, I’ll take care of everything, okay?”

The boy nodded slightly and whispered, “Thanks, Uncle Clark, you know…for everything.  See you soon?”

“You bet.  Good night, Alfred.”

“Mr. Kent,” the butler inclined his head.  The hulking reporter left as quietly as he came, as Bruce stared down the ward, trying to see which door was 402.  Unwilling to go any farther away from Dick than he currently was, Bruce turned back to the room.

Dick’s wide eyes followed Bruce’s every movement.  A slight quiver took over Dick’s bottom lip as Bruce took his seat again.  _Oh, my brave boy.  He’s trying so hard to hold it together.  What did Clark say that scared him so much?_

Dick slowly reached out his non-casted hand. _What’s he doing?_ Bruce thought, _he’s reaching for my hand, but he’s scooting away from me on the bed._   Bruce reached over and gently took the hand as a tear slipped silently from the boy’s eye.  He glanced down at the space he had made on the bed, then back up at Bruce, his lip quivering harder as his defenses shattered.  Bruce silently nodded and slipped onto the bed, adjusting the head to allow them to sit up.  Bruce got on to the edge of the bed as Dick continued sliding over.  When he was in danger of falling off the other side, he stopped and reversed his direction.  He climbed into Bruce’s lap and curled up as tightly as his broken arm would allow, snuggling into his living security blanket.

Bruce lightly ran his fingers through Dick’s hair, remembering to be cautious of the bandaged area, and whispered, “It’s okay now, pal.  It’s okay.  Let it out.  You’re safe now.  I’m not going to let anything else happen to you.”

Dick’s entire body shook as he cried.  He tried to keep his voice down, but he was too worked up after Clark’s interpretation of events.  “I…I…We could have…b-been…c-c-crushed.  I could have died, Bruce.”

“You didn’t, kiddo, and you’re not going to.”

Dick interrupted, voice rising, “…but what if I did?  What if that beam had taken my head off, instead of breaking my arm?  What if S-superman hadn’t gotten there in time?  He didn’t get there in time!  What if he didn’t come at all?”

Bruce placed his hand on the back of Dick’s head, steadying it and allowing their eyes to meet.  “It didn’t happen that way.  We came too close today, but you got away.  You’re here, alive, with me.  I’m not going to let anything change that.”

Dick stared into Bruce’s eyes for a long minute before giving a slight nod.  His eyes closed and his lower lip shook harder than ever as he whispered, “I don’t want to die, daddy.”

Dick buried his face into Bruce’s chest as the man stared in wonderment at Alfred, a pleading gaze entreating the butler to help him, give him something to say to comfort his sobbing son.  Alfred was no help, as he himself was crying at those six softly spoken words.  Bruce buried his face in Dick’s hair, wrapped his arms tightly around Dick, and rocked him gently back and forth.  Sometime in the next hour or so, Bruce found that Dick had cried himself to sleep.  Having no intention of moving, Bruce reclined the bed a few degrees, closed his eyes, and followed Dick’s example.

_The Next Morning…_

Dick awoke to a confusing situation.  The bed was shaking and he was moving.  He couldn’t move his left arm, and confusion was setting in.  Lifting his head, he saw Bruce’s smiling face above him, as the man shifted the boy out of his lap.  Bruce was trying to get up, but Dick had his hand wound tightly in the fabric of Bruce’s shirt.

“Let go, pal.  Please?” the man said quietly.

Dick looked around and found himself in a hospital room, and the events of the previous day flooded back to his mind.  “Don’t leave me, Bruce.”

A kind smile warmed the chilly room several degrees as Bruce said, “I’ll be right back, okay?  “

“But…”

Bruce placed both of his hands around the hand twisted in his shirt.  “Dick, the nurses aren’t going to bring me a bedpan, if you get my drift.” The boy blushed and let go of the shirt.  Bruce said, “I’ll be right back.”

Dick watched the man leave, then turned back to the room to find Alfred was pulling a hospital blanket up to cover the youth.  “My, but they do keep these wards chilly, don’t they, Master Dick?”

“Good morning, Alfred.  Well, not _that_ good, but…”

The butler smiled at the boy and said, “I take your meaning, child.  Good morning.”

A nurse bustled into the room and checked Dick’s bandages.  “How are you feeling today?”

Dick looked up at the young nurse, feeling like he should remember her from somewhere.  “It’s cold in here.” He said, “And I’m sore.  Am I supposed to feel like this?”

She smiled as she removed the wrap from Dick’s forehead.  “With the report we got from the EMT’s when they brought you in, I’d be surprised if you _didn’t_ feel sore.”  The nurse winked at Dick and said, “I don’t know if you knew this, or remembered it happening, but you were pulled out of the building by Superman.  Probably not the best way to meet him, but you can brag that your class was saved by the Man of Steel.”

Dick shrugged, not really paying attention as the bandage over the stitches was replaced.  “I’ve met him before.”

The nurse looked surprised, “You have?  When?”

Dick’s eyes grew as he remembered where he was.  Alfred was holding his breath, wondering how Dick was going to spin his slip of the tongue.  “Oh, um…see, I grew up in a circus, before Bruce adopted me.  We did a show in Metropolis several years ago, and there was a charity group there, with some kids from an orphanage.  Well, Superman showed up to greet the kids after the show, and I got to meet him.  Well, I didn’t actually _meet_ him, but he waved at us, and smiled.  He seemed like a nice guy.”

The nurse nodded slowly, “A circus, huh?  I bet that would explain a lot of your scars, then.  Superman is a nice guy.  He does a lot of charity work like that.  That’s pretty impressive, Richard.”

Despite everything, Dick blushed, “Thanks, and it’s Dick.”

“Well, Dick.  Everything looks good here.  We’re going to take you for some x-rays in a bit, just to make sure your arm is set properly.”

“Thanks,” Dick said again as the nurse walked out of the room.

Alfred leaned over and said quietly, “Was any of that true, Master Dick?”

Dick looked over at Alfred innocently, with a gleam in his eye that hadn’t been present the night before, and said, “Of course, Alfie.  You know I grew up in Haly’s Circus, and that we played shows in Metropolis.  I’m sure there had to be orphans brought to watch the show at least once while I was there, and I did see Superman after a Metropolis show once.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.  He was flying overhead, probably didn’t even look down at the circus as he passed, but I waved anyway.  So, you know, it was all true, it just didn’t happen all at the same time.”

Alfred grimaced, “You are becoming all too good at that, Master Dick.  I think we both know who is to blame for that.”

“Too good at what, Alfred?”

“Lying, my boy.  Just so long as you don’t lie to me like that, young sir.” The butler gave the boy a stern look, but there was no threat underlying it.”

Dick smiled and said in an exaggerated tone, “No, Alfred.  Of course not.  I would never do that to you.”

Any reply Alfred may have made died in his throat as a masculine voice from the hallway caught their attention.  “Excuse me, Mr. Wayne?  I’m Dr. Waters, I worked on Richard yesterday.  I would just like a minute of your time, see if you can explain something to me.”

A cautious tone emanated from Bruce as he replied, unseen outside of the door, “Okay, doctor.  I’ll do my best.”

“Mr. Wayne, I found quite a lot of scars on your ward when I was tending to his injuries.  Some of them looked fairly recent, and I was able to find no medical documentation for most of them when I called your family doctor.  Some of them could even be viewed as a result of abuse.”

Bruce had to reel in his anger at the accusation, but the emotion was evident on his face.  Dr. Waters continued, “Now, Mr. Wayne, I am not saying you abuse your ward, and that angry look you’re giving me is actually helping to put my mind at ease.  If you were, the initial look would be one of guilt.  If you can just tell me where Richard got those scars, I can complete my report, and we can forget this…unpleasantness.”

Bruce took a deep breath before feeling capable of answering in a civil tone.  “Dr. Waters, to even suggest that I would beat my son is the biggest insult I have had in a very long time.  I’m sure Dr. Thompkins was able to tell you that, while any recent wounds have been treated at home, she is aware of them.”

“Yes, she did say that she was aware of several injuries having been treated at home, but some of them show signs of surgical treatment.  How did that happen in a home environment?”

“My butler, who is in with Dick right now, is a former British Army medic.  He is more than capable of stitching and bandaging a cut, if necessary.  I, myself, have also had some basic medical and first aid training.”

The doctor nodded, “That jives with what Dr. Thompkins told me so far.  How about the injuries themselves?”

“Dick grew up in a circus, before I adopted him.  Can you honestly tell me that someone can live in that kind of environment and not come away with a few scars?”

“That is also what Dr. Thompkins said.  That explains his older scars, how about the newer ones?”

Bruce felt desperate to get this over with, but he didn’t want to blow anything off and risk a CPS investigation.  “Dick’s an active boy, doctor.  I own a large, old house, with a lot of land surrounding it.  Dick likes to climb trees, run around, go exploring.  He’s come back with far more scrapes and bumps than I would like, but each one has been properly treated and cared for.”

“Okay, Mr. Wayne.  I believe you, and seeing the way Richard curled up in your lap last night…Well, that is not the behavior of an abused child towards their abuser.  Thank you for clearing that up for me, Mr. Wayne, and I’m sorry if I brought up a sore subject.”

“You’re just doing your job, doctor,” Bruce said, trying to keep Batman from taking over and tearing the physician’s arms off.

The doctor walked away, making notes on his clipboard as Bruce returned to the room.  He tried to put on a cheery smile, but the look died on his face as Dick’s large, watery blue eyes met his own.  Alfred had a comforting hand placed on Dick’s shoulder as he looked up at Bruce with a concerned expression.

Bruce sat down next to the bed and took Dick’s hand again and said, “It’ll be okay, chum.”  Looking up at Alfred, he asked, “You heard all of that?”

“I’m afraid so, sir.”

The doctor and an orderly came back into the room.  Instantly, all three occupants were on edge.  Dr. Waters caught the atmosphere of the room, and correctly interpreted what was going on.  He stopped at the door as the orderly continued forward to the bed.  “We’re just here to take Richard for his x-rays.  The nurse told you about those, right?”

Still apprehensive, Dick said, “Yeah, she did.”  He squeezed Bruce’s hand as the bed was wheeled out of the room.

Dick watched the wall signs pass as he was pushed towards the Radiology Department.  When he figured he was far enough from the room, he held up his good hand.  “Wait.”

The bed came to a stop as Dick looked at the orderly and said, “Can you give me a minute with the doctor, please?”

The man nodded and walked a few steps down the hall as Dr. Waters came to stand next to the bed.  “Is everything okay, Richard?”

The boy gave the doctor a piercing look and said, “I heard what you said to Bruce when you two were in the hallway.  I know you tried to keep your voice down, but I have really good hearing.  Bruce has never laid a hand on me.  He has never hit me, or even acted like he might.  Bruce doesn’t hurt me, doctor.  You want to know about my scars, ask _me_ , I can tell you how each and every one happened.”

Meeting the boy’s determined look, the doctor decided to see what would happen if he asked about a few of the more prominent scars he had found.  Pointing to Dick’s left side, just below his rib cage, Dr. Waters said, “Okay, how about the one right about here?”

Dick looked where the doctor was pointing and said, “That’s a really old one.  I was with the circus then.  We were performing just outside of Boise, Idaho.  I was helping set up the big top, and it was really windy.  One of the stakes holding the tent flap came loose.  Geno, our lead roustabout, asked me to hold on to the flap while he went and got another stake.  A big gust of wind came up and ripped the flap out of my hand.  I went to grab it, and it snapped back and caught me in the side.  I couldn’t do trapeze with an injury like that; it would have kept stretching and gotten bigger.  Mom bandaged me up, and I had to miss a week’s worth of shows to make sure it was healed.  Anything else you want to know about?”

Nodding, the doctor pointed at a more recent scar on Dick’s knee.  Dick rolled his eyes and said, “My first summer with Bruce, he bought me a bicycle.  I’d never had one before, but I’d seen other kids riding them and thought it looked easy.  My third time riding it, I fell in the driveway and scraped up my knee.  The driveway is gravel.  Alfred says that is why it scarred so much.”

Dr. Waters walked around the bed and pointed to a spot just above the cast, Dick’s first Robin injury.  “How about this one?  This one looks almost too clean to be explained by a simple accident.”

Dick thought fast, it was the first scar the doctor had pointed out that he was going to have to lie about.  He was very glad, for the first time, that the thug had been using a serrated blade, and the scar had a bit of jaggedness to it.  A straight slash would have been very hard to lie about.  “I told you I was in the circus…”

Dr. Waters interrupted, “That scar is too new to have come from your time at the circus.  Dr. Thompkins told me you have been with Mr. Wayne for three years now, that one is not three years old.”

“No, it’s almost two years old.  If you let me talk, I’ll tell you.  At the circus, I was a gymnast, acrobat, and aerialist.  I like to still do gymnastics; it keeps me in shape.  The formal living room at the manor has a nice open space that I thought would be good for a tumbling pass.  I do that sometimes,” Dick addressed the incredulous look on the doctor’s face.  “Anyway, I tried a pass.  What I didn’t know was that Alfred had just waxed the floor that morning.  My feet slipped out from under me when I landed from my back flip, I was wearing socks, and I slipped into the fireplace.  The fireplace in the formal living room is all this old, jagged stone.  I caught my arm on a corner, and sliced it up pretty good.  Alfred cleaned it up.  He said it probably would have healed just fine with butterfly bandages, but he put in a few stitches, just for safety.”

The doctor nodded, now having a good explanation for the injury, which matched more or less what Dr. Thompkins had told him.  “Thank you, Richard.  I’m very happy to know that none of your past injuries are Mr. Wayne’s doing.”  He waved the orderly back over.

“I’m not done, doctor,” Dick said, upset to have Bruce questioned like this in front of him.  “People have been saying things about Bruce since the day he took me in; always trying to find something to pin on him, just to say that his motives in caring for me are other than honest.  It’s not fair, and it’s not right.  He’s done nothing to deserve the abuse he gets for doing something good.  Bruce is a good man.  He would never hurt me.”

As Dick was wheeled into the Radiology suite, Dr. Waters said, “Richard, I’m sorry, but it’s part of my job.  I see scars, I’m naturally curious where they came from.  You have to admit, you have quite a few.  If I don’t find out where they came from, or if there is no documentation of them being treated, then I’m not doing my job if I don’t do a little digging.  You and Mr. Wayne have both satisfied my curiosity.”  The orderly was positioning Dick’s arm for the x-ray as the doctor asked, “Hey, just one last question,” He pointed to a small, circular scar on Dick’s right arm.  “I noticed several scars just like this one all over your body.  How did you get those?”

Dr. Waters was smiling, but Dick couldn’t quite tell if the man was joking or not.  He already didn’t like the physician, and if he was trying to get back in Dick’s good graces, it wasn’t going to work.  “Really?  You’re going to ask about those?  You’re a doctor, and you can’t tell where those scars came from?  Fine, I had the chicken pox when I was six.  We were somewhere in Colorado at the time.  I can’t quite remember exactly where, since I was pretty sick, and we were traveling.  Can we get this over with?  I’d like to get back to Bruce.”

Dr. Waters backed away slowly, realizing that he would be lucky if his patient said anything more during his stay, other than a brusque good-bye when he was discharged.  His attempt at humor had fallen flat, and the doctor could recognize when he had lost the boy’s trust.  The pictures were taken, and the orderly took Dick back to his room.

“Dick, what’s wrong?” Bruce asked after the orderly left.

“I don’t like that doctor, Bruce.  He shouldn’t have been questioning you like that.  Why can’t people realize that you would never hurt me?” Dick sniffled.

“Hey, pal, it’s okay…”

“It’s _not_ okay, Bruce.  He basically accused you of beating me!  It’s none of his business if I have a few scars.  I’m young, I’ll get more.  My dad always said they add character.”

Bruce’s eyes grew larger.  “Did he ask you about your scars?  Is that why it took so long to get an x-ray?”

Dick looked defiant, “I _told_ him to ask me, right after I told him that you would never hurt me.  I told him to leave you alone, that…that it’s not fair that people judge you without knowing you.”

Bruce held the boy’s hand gently, “Thank you, Dick.  It means a lot to me that you would stick up for me like that.  Which ones did he ask about?”

Dick looked at the door, wondering if the doctor was waiting just outside, “The one on my side.”

“The tent flap scar?” Bruce asked.

“Yeah.  Then my knee.”

Bruce winced, remembering a younger Dick trying to be brave as Alfred picked gravel out of the abraded flesh.  “Ooh, yeah.  I told you you should have let me put the training wheels on the bike.”

“You were right.  Then he asked about my arm,” Dick glanced at the slash mark as Bruce followed his eyes, “The one I caught on the edge of the fireplace that time I slipped when I was tumbling in the living room.”

_That was some quick thinking, chum, to come up with a story like that, then find a way to tell us, so we can all be on the same page._   “Yeah, not a good day.”

Alfred spoke up, showing he understood what just went on, “I told you I would be waxing the floors that day, young sir.”

Dick shot Alfred a bright smile as the butler confirmed his story in the best way.  “I know, Alfred, but I was bored, and I paid for it.”

Dr. Waters walked in with the x-rays and placed them in the light box.  “Mr. Wayne, Richard, Mr…I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”

“Alfred Pennyworth, Dr. Waters.”

The doctor nodded, “Right, Mr. Pennyworth.  Everything looks good so far.  Your arm has been set correctly, and the plate is in the right position to hold everything together while you heal.  I want that arm to stay immobilized for the next six weeks.  You can follow up with your family doctor at that time.”

“Is there anything else we need to know, doctor?” Bruce asked.  The doctor was met with mild glares from the three men.

“No, not really.  Your stitches should be ready to come out in about a week.  Please keep the area dry until then.  You’ll have to be careful when bathing to make sure that your stitches and cast stay dry, okay?”  Dick nodded.

“When can we get out of here?  I think Dick would be more comfortable at home, in his own bed.”

Dr. Waters nodded, “I agree, you would be more comfortable at home, Richard.  Most of your class will be discharged early this afternoon.  Your friend, Mark, has already been released.  I think the rest are just waiting on parents to arrive to pick them up.  I would like to keep you here for another night, though.  I want to make sure there are no effects from your concussion.”

Dick looked up at Bruce and said, “I don’t want to stay here, Bruce.  I’m not comfortable here.”  He shot a sidelong glance at the doctor.

“It really would be in your best interest to stay, Richard.  Besides, you really can’t get on a plane in your condition.  Even if the airline would allow you on a plane, it wouldn’t be safe, not yet.”

Bruce looked at the man evenly, “That’s okay.  We have a car here.  What are you observing for?”

“Any aftereffects of the concussion.”

“I am a fully qualified medic, Dr. Waters.  I can assure you that Master Dick will be observed quite closely, and our family doctor is just a phone call away.” Alfred said to the doctor.

“What is going to change in staying for another night, Dr. Waters?” Bruce asked the man.

“It really is for Richard’s safety.  I would feel safer authorizing his discharge after having more time to observe his condition, and giving him a bit more time to rest.  A five hour car ride won’t be very comfortable for him right now.  That’s a lot of jostling for an arm that was broken yesterday.”

Dick spoke up, “I’d like a…what is it called…you know, when another doctor…a second opinion, that’s it.  I don’t really think you want to observe me.  I think you want to observe Bruce, and see if you should call CPS on us.”

Dr. Waters looked annoyed, “Richard, we already discussed that, and I told you that your, and Mr. Wayne’s, explanations are good enough for me.  I’ve already decided not to make a report to CPS.  It wouldn’t do anyone any good to do that at this point.”

Dick met the doctor’s eyes, “Then why keep me here?  I want to go home.”

“Richard…”

Dick stood up for the first time in a day.  His legs were a bit shaky, but his voice was firm.  “If you keep me here, then I want a new doctor.  I’m sorry, Dr. Waters, but I just don’t trust that you have my best interests at heart.”

Boy and Doctor stared at each other.  The doctor backed down first.  “Very well.  I’m sorry you feel that way.  If you would stay until two o’clock, Dr. Levesque will be coming on shift.  You can get your second opinion then.  If you would like to leave now, I’ll get the AMA forms.”

Dick sat back on the bed, looking confused, “AMA? What’s that?”

Dr. Waters made a note on his clipboard and said, “It is a form that goes in your permanent medical chart, saying that Mr. Wayne is signing you out of the hospital Against Medical Advice.”

Bruce nodded, “Fine, get the forms.”

“Wait,” Dick looked at Bruce, “You can’t sign those, Bruce.  It sounds bad, like admitting to doing something wrong, even though you aren’t.  Is that what it is, doctor?”

“It’s signifying that you have chosen to ignore a doctor’s orders.  It…doesn’t look good to have one of those in your files.”

Dick pleaded, “But, we’re not going against any orders.  I just want to go home, doctor.”

“But, you are.  It is my medical opinion, which has already been entered into your medical chart, that you should have another twenty-four hours of observation.  Leaving now would be going against the advice of your doctor.”

Dick looked shrewdly at the man, “What if Bruce refuses to sign the form?”

“It still gets entered into your chart, with a note that states you refused to sign the form, but left anyway.”

“Does the fact that I already asked for another doctor matter?  Does anything we say or do, other than what y _ou_ want, matter?  As far as I’m concerned, you aren’t my doctor anymore, so leaving shouldn’t have anything to do with your ‘medical opinion’”

Bruce and Alfred had to work hard to hide their grins at Dick’s line of thought, but let the boy handle the doctor.  “Richard, even if I’m no longer your doctor, I am still required to enter encounter notes, which means that the AMA will still find its way into your file if you leave.”

Dick looked down and grumbled, “That’s blackmail.  Is that how you work, by threatening patients?  Isn’t that very close to malpractice, Dr. Waters?”

Dr. Waters, to his credit, kept his calm.  He knew of Bruce Wayne, the multi-billionaire of Gotham City.  He had no doubt that Bruce cared deeply for the boy, and as such, would fly in a herd of medical malpractice attorneys if Richard asked.  “Dr. Levesque will be here at two, she can take over your case at that time, and you can have your second opinion.”

Dick asked in a snarky tone, “We’re in a hospital.  You’re telling me that _you_ are the only doctor in the building right now?  What are the rest of those people in the white coats, janitors?  Waiters?”

Bruce interrupted, placing a hand on Dick’s knee to stall any further comments.  “We’ll wait for Dr. Levesque, thank you.”

Dr. Waters nodded and left the room.  A step outside the door, he heard Richard say, “I don’t want that doctor to see me anymore, Bruce.  I don’t trust him.”  He approached the nurse’s station and leaned over to talk to the charge nurse.  “Put in a call to Dr. Levesque, please, see if she can come in a few minutes early today.  My patient in 418 would like to never see me again.”

The nurse looked shocked, “That sweet boy?  I was sure you two would hit it off.”

“That ‘sweet boy’ just put together an argument that would make any lawyer proud.  And, he’s very defensive of his guardian…”

“…and you questioned him about the scars.  Have they had trouble with CPS in the past?”

“You don’t know who that is, Mary?” The woman shook her head, and Dr. Waters continued, “That’s Bruce Wayne and his ward, Dick Grayson.  They were in every paper in this half of the country when he took the boy in.  CPS investigated for months to make sure it was a healthy living environment.”

The nurse nodded, “So, asking about the scars, and implying you may have to make a report, triggered a reaction?”

“I’ll say.  The surprising thing is, the reaction was from Richard, not Bruce.  He is incredibly upset that people would accuse Mr. Wayne of…well, I guess the things I was accusing him of, inadvertently.  He said he doesn’t trust that I want what’s best for him; that I’m just spying for CPS.  He wants to leave, so I explained the AMA forms, and Richard accused me of blackmail and malpractice.  I think he’s scared that an AMA will trigger a CPS inspection.”

Mary thought about it for a second, then said, “My sister lives up in Gotham.  After hearing her stories about their city government, it wouldn’t surprise me if an AMA _did_ trigger an investigation.”

“Just call Dr. Levesque, please.  And, when you do, maybe you could hint that, even if she doesn’t agree, she should just sign the discharge papers.  I’ll back her to the board if it’s questioned.”

Mary looked confused, “Why would you do that, doctor, if you think he needs more time for observation?”

“Because Bruce Wayne could buy this entire hospital without batting an eye, and fire all of us, if he thought it would make Richard happy.  If there is one thing I’ve found out today, it’s that Bruce Wayne loves that boy as if he were his own.  If me being out of a job will make Richard happy, I wouldn’t put it past Mr. Wayne to find a way to make that happen.”  Mary nodded and picked up the phone.

An hour later, Mary changed assignments and delivered lunch to Dick.  She wanted to see if the transformation Dr. Waters spoke about extended to the entire hospital.  She was pleasantly surprised to find Dick smiling and polite as she left the tray on the table.  She didn’t notice the tic under Alfred’s eye start up as he got a look at the hospital food.

While Dick was eating, Bruce snuck out and made his way to room 402.  He was stopped outside of the door by Mary.

“I’m sorry, but Mr. Luthor has left strict instructions that he is not to be disturbed.”

Bruce smiled and said, “I’m not going to disturb him.  We just need to talk.”

“Sir, I can’t allow that.  He said he doesn’t want to see anyone.”

Bruce’s smile grew an edge, “He’ll see me.”

“But…”

“Trust me, it’s okay.  I’ll just tell him that I snuck past you.”  Bruce turned on the charm, hoping to not have to force his way into the room, and assuming that she heard about the incident between Dick and Dr. Waters.

Bruce opened the door to the private room and entered, closing it behind him.  From behind the drawn curtain, Luthor’s deep, commanding voice rang out.

“Damn it, nurse, I said I was not to be bothered without a call on the room phone.”

Bruce slid back the curtain and gazed upon the man.  It’s hard to be imposing from a hospital bed, while wearing a blue and white, backless hospital gown, but Lex almost pulled it off.  A bandage was wrapped around the man’s shiny head, covering a line of stitches.

He looked up from his own meal at the intruder on his peace.  Bruce had to hold in a laugh when he saw that it was the same meal that Dick was served.  “Nurse, what is the meaning of…Bruce Wayne?  What are you doing here?”

Bruce gave a gentle smile to his business competitor and said, looking around at the room, “You know what I’m doing here; my boy has a room just like this, just down the hall.”

Lex winced and said, “Is he okay?  I’ve been getting updates from my office, and they said none of the kids were killed, but they were all hurt.”

Bruce sighed, thinking on the injuries of his son, “He’ll be okay.  He has a broken arm and a head wrap to match yours.  Doctor said there would be no complications.  Are you okay?”

“Just some bumps and bruises, and a concussion.  The stitches can come out next Monday.  You know, I would have bet real money that you wouldn’t let your son step one foot in my building without being there to escort him.”

The standing businessman nodded with a slight grin and said, “He worked hard, they all did.  He deserved to go on this trip as much as any of the other kids in the class did.  I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure about him going.  What happened, Lex?”

Luthor looked frustratingly confused at the question.  “I wish I could tell you, Bruce.  We don’t have an exact cause yet, but the police, and Superman, have ruled out a bomb.  They’re having a hard time determining what exactly happened.  I’m guessing that is because the smartest people I had were close to what happened, when it happened.  I lost some really good people, Bruce.  This is going to take some time to recover from.  I’m not even speaking financially here.  My people were the best people I could recruit, and they were family.  I got to know several of them, and their families.  This isn’t just a business loss…”

Lex trailed off as the phone next to his bed began to ring.  He answered, and as he listened to the speaker on the other end of the line, Luthor’s face began to lose color as his eyes grew larger in shock.  He waved for Bruce to sit as the call dragged on for several minutes, looking like each word fed into his ear was a blow to the gut.

Luthor hung up the phone and sat silently to collect himself for a minute.  He looked out the window at the early spring day outside of the hospital and took several deep breaths before saying softly, “We’ve figured out what happened.  That was my new head of security, he told me what did all…this.”

“Your _new_ head of security?” Bruce asked, confused.

Lex nodded absently, “Yes, my old security chief was killed in the incident.”

“Well?”

Lex closed his eyes for a second and took a deep breath before continuing.  “Last week, I got a call from the chief compliance officer with Star Labs.  One of my lead researchers, Dr. Phillipe Gambo, had been in contact with Star Labs.  He wanted to see if he could make a better deal than the one he was getting from LexCorp.  His big offer to them was details on a project he had been working on for several months.  They looked into the project and found out it was a government contract.  Star Labs and LexCorp have the same agreement that Wayne Enterprises and LexCorp have.”

Bruce nodded in understanding, “Right, nondisclosure and non-competition for government contracts.”

“Not just a business agreement, but a federal statute.  As soon as they found out that he was offering information on a federal contract, they called me.”

Bruce sighed, “I would have done the same thing, Lex.  Called, I mean.”

The injured man gave Bruce a kind smile, “Just as I would have called you or John Star if the offer had been made to me.  Gambo broke a serious corporate guideline, he had to go.  He was terminated last week, but per employment law, I had to allow him back into the building to clean out his office.  He asked to go to the lab, to say goodbye to his coworkers, and that is when he did…whatever he did.  The details are still a little hazy on what actually happened, but they gave me a general overview.”

Bruce looked upset, “And, all this had to happen at the same time as the tour?”

Lex shook his head, “No, that’s just it.  He was fired on Friday, and came back on Monday morning.  Whatever he did, it took that long to go off.  He left a note in his office, stating basically if he was going down, so was LexCorp.  It was too late to stop anything by the time I found out about the note, and the sabotage.  I wasn’t informed of what was going on until the kids had already arrived for the tour.  They were checking in at security when my aide gave me the message.  Security and my researchers were scouring Gambo’s work area for anything.  I was asked to stall the tour as much as possible.  I took the kids to a conference room and gave them some company history, before taking them to Lab level 1.

“Once we got to the lab, I let the kids look around for a while so I could get an update on the search.  Everything was taking place on Lab level 3, so I thought it would be okay to continue, at least for a while.  It would have looked suspicious if I kicked everyone out as soon as the tour started.  You know, your boy, Dick right?” Bruce nodded with a familiar smile, “Well, I can’t say for sure, but I could have sworn he was trying to eavesdrop on my conversation.  He was hanging around a table close by, looking at an experiment, but something about his posture hinted that the set-up didn’t have his full attention.”

Bruce smiled internally, but kept his face carefully neutral.  “That may be my fault.  I joked with him before he left Gotham that he should look for trade secrets while he was on the tour.  He must have taken me seriously.”

Lex rocked his head back, letting out a deep laugh that Bruce couldn’t help but join in on.  “I should have suspected something like that.  If that’s what he was doing, then you need to be careful, because he’s very good at it.  It wouldn’t surprise me if he already knew what you were getting him for his birthday.”

_You had to confirm Dick’s name, but you know that his birthday is coming up in a couple months?  You must still have a few effects from the concussion, Lex._ “He wouldn’t do that.  That is actually one thing he has never tried to spy on.  I think he likes the surprise too much to ruin it by getting a sneak peek.”

Both men settled back into the quasi-somber atmosphere of Luthor’s tale.  “Gambo’s project was for NASA.  They found that they could make a sort of force field using attenuated plasma.  The field is totally atmosphere tight.  The generating equipment is quite heavy at this phase of development, but the field itself is completely weight neutral.  NASA wants to develop it to eventually replace the windows on future space craft, once the technology is more reliable and the generating equipment is less bulky than the current windows.  The project is still in its early infancy, it’ll be decades before it becomes viable.  I think NASA just wanted to see if it could be done at this point.”

Bruce was genuinely interested in the project as he asked, “How big of a field were you able to make, before the accident?”

“I guess I can tell you now, since the project is basically dead in the water now.  We got up to a two inch diameter circle.  We were growing the field slowly, but it was perfectly stable at that size.  We hadn’t really tested anything bigger yet, but it looked promising.  And, it wasn’t an accident.  That is what my security chief was telling me.  Gambo set the field generator to overload.  It took a day and a half to build up, but it was enough to completely gut three floors, my entire R&D set-up, and threaten the structural stability of the entire building.  City engineers are there now, and probably will be for weeks, to make sure the structure is safe.”

_Clark was right, Dick really is lucky to be alive._   “I’m sorry, Lex, I really am.  At least we know what happened, now.  If there is a silver lining over this whole event, at least it wasn’t terrorism or supervillains, or anything you need to worry about happening again.”

Lex nodded, “At least, not any time soon.  Still, to think that one of my employees would be that disgruntled, to do something like that…My employees are like my family, Bruce.  Gambo didn’t just work for me, I knew him, or at least, I thought I did.  I interviewed him before he started with LexCorp.  I met his family.  I took him and his wife out to dinner.  He was slated to become the head of R&D in a few years.  I don’t understand what could have changed in such a short time.  The state police are looking for him now.  The FBI has placed him on their wanted list.  His passport has been flagged.  He’s going to jail for aggravated murder, as soon as he’s caught.”

Bruce stood and held out his hand to the bed-bound businessman.  Lex took it in a firm grip as Bruce said, “I should really be getting back to Dick, so you can finish your…appetizing…lunch.  If there is anything Wayne Enterprises can to do help, you just call me.  My secretary will put you through to me directly any time you call.  I can’t let something like this happen, even to a rival.  There is no reason to allow aggression like this to continue.”

Luthor nodded and smiled at the offer.  “Thank you, Bruce.  That means a lot to me.  I’m sure there is plenty to do in the upcoming weeks, and I will definitely be in touch.  If nothing else, I need to check on your kid, make sure he isn’t throwing my secrets around at home…I mean, make sure he is healing.”

Bruce laughed again as he walked to the door.  “Yeah, I’m sure that’s what you meant.”

Bruce opened the door as Lex called out to him one last time.  “Hey, Bruce?  I think there is something you can do for me…”

_The Following Month…_

Four weeks later, Mr. Chang’s Advanced Chemistry class walked into the lobby of the Wayne Tower in downtown Gotham.  Aside from Dick’s broken arm, still in it’s cast, and Mr. Chang’s leg, also casted from being broken in the incident, the rest of the class’s injuries had healed.

Dr. Levesque had approved Dick’s release without argument when she had arrived for her shift.  The family had returned to the hotel to gather Dick’s belongings, and spent the night, as Alfred judged it was too late to hit the road.  The following morning, at the crack of dawn, Alfred piloted his sleepy charges out of Metropolis, and aimed the car for home.

They arrived home to find Dr. Thompkins sitting on the front porch, with a stern look on her face.  “If you were going to stay the extra night, why didn’t you just keep him in the hospital, Bruce?”

“It was Dick’s decision.  I can’t say I disagree with him, though.  Dr. Waters just rubbed him the wrong way, and the second opinion of Dr. Levesque allowed us to leave, so we did.”

Leslie got in Bruce’s face as Alfred took Dick inside, out of the doctor’s line of fire.  “Who is the parent here, Bruce?  It isn’t his decision to make, it’s yours.  People are always going to ask you questions that sound like they are coming straight from CPS.  You can’t run away from them if you want them to stop.”

“You spoke to Dr. Waters?”

“Several times.  I used to work with him, when we were in residency.  He’s a good man, Bruce, he’s just doing his job.  He did make sure to tell me that he was very impressed with Dick, and how much that boy loves you, but he also knows who you are.  He _instructed_ Dr. Levesque to sign Dick’s discharge papers, because he thought you might be persuaded by Dick to buy the hospital and get him fired, just to make Dick happy.”

Bruce looked down, “Do I really come off like that?  Like I don’t care for people?  Like I would do anything to get my way?”

Leslie’s look softened as she said, “Not really, but when it comes to Dick, people see the bond between you two, which is great, but they are also afraid to say things that might possibly upset him, because they know the kind of power you wield.  Dr. Waters is one step from being the chief medical director at St. Ignatius Hospital; he told me that you and Dick made him feel like a first year intern.  He said he hasn’t been that scared of losing his job in over twenty years.”  She turned to walk into the house and said, “Come on, I have a patient to check on.”

Alfred, seeing which way the wind was blowing, had bustled Dick off to his room to wait for the doctor.  A thorough examination found Dick in as good shape as she could expect.  Pointing to the boy’s bed, she addressed Bruce and Alfred, “He stays here, no matter what.  I’ll be back Sunday afternoon to check on him again.  Dick?  Necessary bathroom breaks are the only reason you are allowed out of this bed, do you understand me?”

The subdued child stood and hugged the doctor, and said, “Yes, Leslie.  Thank you for coming.”

Leslie smiled softly as she cupped the back of the boy’s head.  “You’re welcome, Dick, but I mean it.  Stay in bed and rest, you need it.”

For once this week, Dick followed doctor’s orders.  Leslie was satisfied with his progress after the weekend, enough so to clear him to return to school.  He, of course, received another warning of no strenuous activity until the cast came off.  Leslie was thinking of night activities, but Dick had another obligation concerning his mind.  He returned to his place as Assistant Gymnastics Coach on Monday afternoon, but was limited in what he could offer to the team.  He had missed the first meet of the season the previous week, and the team had scored another solid second place.  However, the coach was satisfied with the improvement of the girl’s performance, and revealed that they had only trailed the first place team by half a point.  With more work, she was convinced that the team would get the elusive first place spot soon.  Two weeks later, with Dick at the meet to encourage the team, they achieved the first winning performance in school history since the year Dick was born.

Now, stopping at the security desk in the lobby of Wayne Towers, the class was met by Chief Financial Officer Lucius Fox.  He sent Dick a covert wink as he greeted the class.  “Good morning everyone, I’m Lucius Fox.  Welcome to Wayne Enterprises.  I know this field trip wasn’t really explained to you; Mr. Wayne wanted it that way.  You will all be meeting with him in a few minutes, after we get you all checked in.  Go ahead and get your security badges.  We’ll get started in just a minute.”

Several glances were shot in Dick’s direction as the class checked in.  Mark finally approached Dick and asked, “Grayson, what’s going on?”

Dick had approached the security booth and was greeted warmly by the guard on duty.  He was a familiar sight in the building, and didn’t think he would actually need a special pass, but it didn’t do any harm to ask.  Assured his normal pass would suffice for today, Dick put the lanyard around his neck with his all-access pass, the same type issued to Bruce.  Turning to Mark, Dick said, “I’ve told you, I didn’t find out about the field trip today any sooner than the rest of the class.  Bruce hasn’t told me anything, just that he has a surprise for us.”

Mark gave Dick a hard look as several other students gathered around to listen in.  “You wouldn’t lie to me, would you, Dick?”

“Honest, Mark.  He didn’t tell me anything.  Believe me, I tried to get him to talk.  He wouldn’t.”

Satisfied for the moment, the class rejoined Lucius as he led them to the elevators.  Once inside, Mark giggled next to Dick.  “What’s so funny, Mark?”

“Nothing, just remembering what you said about this building being taller than LexCorp.”

Dick smiled, as Lucius gave a little company history.  Dick wasn’t paying attention, having heard the story before, as he watched the floor lights on the panel count up towards the executive levels.  Stopping three floors below Bruce’s office level, Lucius led the curious students to a conference room, noticing a strange dynamic taking place.  As they were walking, the class began to fall in behind Dick, as if he could protect them from what was coming.  Several students looked nervous about what was about to happen.  Surprising to Lucius, Dick was one of them.

Mr. Chang had told the class on Friday afternoon that they had been invited to a tour of Wayne Enterprises on Tuesday morning.  Like the Metropolis trip, their other class work had been taken care of, and they wouldn’t be missing anything.  The only hint Mr. Chang had given the class was to make sure they still remembered everything about the presentation they never got to give to the LexCorp Board of Directors.  After class, Dick had been mobbed for information, but had none to give.  He was just as surprised as the rest of the class.

As the students entered the darkened space of the conference room, Bruce had to try to hide a smirk.  The students entering the room were walking much like the group from the Wizard of Oz, approaching the Great and Powerful Oz.  Only Dick and Mr. Chang wore different looks; Mr. Chang knew what to expect out of this meeting, and Dick knew everyone on the opposite side of the table, had spoken to each of them several times, and had nothing to fear from any of them.

Lucius took his seat next to Bruce as the CEO stood up and shot the class a smile.  He noticed that Dick naturally migrated towards the back of the group, as Bruce had expected him to do.  “Welcome, everyone.  I’m Bruce Wayne.  I’m glad your school would approve for you to come, and I hope you aren’t too nervous about being here today.  I would completely understand if you were, since the last time you went to tour an R&D department didn’t end so well.”

The class gasped in surprise, and Bruce smiled as he saw Mark lean over to whisper something excitedly to Dick.  “Before we get started, I do have something to show you.  There are chairs behind you, please grab one and take a seat.”

When the class was seated, Bruce hit a button on the table in front of him.  A video was displayed on the side wall of the room of Lex Luthor.  The bald businessman, lacking head wrap and stitches, but sporting a slight scar from where he had been injured, smiled into the camera.  “Good morning class.  I hope you have all recovered from your injuries.  Please accept my deepest apologies for what happened during your tour of my facility.  If I had known something like that was going to happen, I would have cleared the building and rescheduled your tour.”  The findings of the investigation into the incident had been published in the newspapers weeks before, and Phillipe Gambo’s arrest had followed two days later.  He was pending trial, but it was a foregone conclusion that he would be found guilty.

Luthor continued, “The real tragedy of this incident is, of course, the loss of life, but second to that is the broken promise.  You all worked very hard to win that competition, and due to something out of anyone’s control, you have been robbed of your prize.  Fortunately, business does not exist in a vacuum.  Shortly following the incident, several local and distant businesses and charities offered their assistance to LexCorp.  We have been able to care for my employees, and my building will be repaired soon, but I then remembered that that will do nothing for you.  My R&D department was scheduled to develop your project.  I no longer _have_ and R &D department, so I reached out to the first offer of assistance that was made to me.  Wayne Enterprises R&D has taken over the development of your project, and if the report I received yesterday is accurate, it should be just about ready to go into production.”

The second excited gasp of the day warmed Bruce’s heart.  He had asked Lex to make the video several days before, including the part about the project being ready.  Bruce looked over the happy students seated before him, catching the only pair of eyes faced in his direction.  He shot a wink at Dick, who was giving Bruce such a bright smile, Bruce was surprised that it didn’t light up the room and wash out the video being projected on the side wall.  The silently mouthed _Thank you_ from the boy was likely the most heartfelt thing ever uttered in the conference room.  Lucius had been watching for the boy’s reaction from the second he took his seat next to Bruce.  It didn’t disappoint.  Lucius squeezed Bruce’s shoulder and nodded to the man with a smile on his face after Dick turned back to the video.  Bruce returned the smile gently.

“I’m going to turn you back over to Mr. Wayne now, but first, I would just like to reiterate my congratulations, both on your winning project, and the ability to see it come to fruition.  You are a class from a Gotham school, it’s only fitting that a Gotham-based lab develop your creation.  Congratulations, good job, and remember my offer.  It still stands.  LexCorp would be honored to have any or all of you join the family.  However, after today, I’m sure Wayne Enterprises will be making the same offer.”

The video ended and the lights came up in the room.  While the video had played, several lab-coated scientists had entered the room, carrying professional-looking display boards, showing the notes and specifications of the project.

Bruce stood again and addressed the dazed-looking students with a large smile.  “I spoke with Lex Luthor the day after the incident.  He had your award-winning specifications sent over to my R&D labs the following Monday.” Gesturing to the new arrivals, he said, “This is the team that has taken your ball and run with it, as it were, for the last four weeks.  You will have plenty of time to get to know them when they join you on your tour of the labs later.  For now, I have asked them to bring up the specifications of the project that they have been working from, so that you can have the part of your last tour that never happened.”

Bruce sat down again, and smiled at the students.  Several of them were looking at the display boards, recognizing their work, and beginning to realize what exactly was being asked of them.  “Mr. Chang, students, my board of directors and I are very impressed with your accomplishment.  If you wouldn’t mind, I would like you to explain to me what my scientists have been working on for the past month.”

 

**A/N:  First off, I would like to apologize.  This is over twice as long as I originally planned it to be.  Once again, I let my mind wander, and wound up with this.  I realize it is a bit fluffy, but why not?**

**This isn’t quite the normal comic book story, but I think it is more realistic this way.  Problems aren’t always caused by supervillains or terrorists or natural disasters.  The disgruntled employee angle seemed like something that not even Superman could combat, and it fit the story.**

**Thanks for playing along.  Please review as you feel led.  Hearing your feedback is the best way for me to improve.  I feel like I know a little about this writing thing, but I can always get better.**


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